Domino Effect
by TheDarkestZero
Summary: Kane is a boy with powerful magic skills with a fascination for the Keyblade. Domino is his friend and a Keyblade wielder. Events have led them to leave their world behind so they can find out what's out there...but a darkness lurks in the shadows and swallows worlds whole. And that's just the start...the start of the great war between Light and Dark. The Keyblade War shall begin!
1. Prologue

**Here's the prequel to my Road to Xehanort story! One, you don't HAVE to read that story before this one, or vice versa. You CAN though, if you feel the need, but in order to read Road to Xehanort, you may want to read Nonexistent Union first. Now, without further ado, let's get on with the prologue.**

**— **

**Prologue**

Living here used to always be so simple. Never before had things gone so complicated so fast. Before we go into great detail about the origins of the great Keyblade War anybody reading my journals should know about, I'd like to tell you a little about myself.

The name's Kane Carter, a sixteen year old boy sporting shoulder length black hair with mysterious golden eyes that people used to call '_unnatural_'. I had always had a fascination for the Keyblade, a mysterious weapon invented by man only three years prior. These weapons, connected to its wielder by blood, cannot be separated unless the blood of said wielder is consumed by another.

I'm afraid I'm getting a little too deep into the origins of the Keyblade. Back to me, I don't worry too much, or so I think. People are always telling me how I'm such a worrywart and I can't really blame them. Would anyone think I'm just fine, being just a kid who's lost his parents three years ago and is living all by himself in the care of a very generous foster home? I think not.

I also have quite the writing skills. I'm usually all to myself in my room writing in my journals, or I'm with my closest friend, Domino, a kid who lives down the street from us. How could I forget Domino?

Domino was almost the opposite of me. While I was all serious and alone all the time, Domino was making a friend every day of the week like the happy-go-lucky person he was, not a care in the world. His silvery eyes and long, mid-back purple hair were in great contrast to my golden eyes and dark hair.

Which mighty world do we live on? A mighty metropolis filled with buildings and skyscrapers that disappeared from view beyond the clouds. Roads that seemed to go on forever. Let's not forget that majestic lake where a lot of people go to calm down, known as the Lake of Destiny, which you could only see if you go boating there yourself, or you can see it from atop of the Great Bridge. But enough about my homeworld.

Now, it's time for me to answer the question on your mind…why are you here reading some kid's journal while you could be doing better, more productive things? Because this journal is the collection of the last remnants of my legacy, one I'd like to share with the world of tomorrow, no matter how much change has occurred.

So I guess it's time for my tale to begin. The tale of Domino and I as the two of us brave the horrors of the Keyblade War. Let us begin.


	2. Simple and Clean

**Kingdom Hearts does not belong to me, though that should be obvious. All OCs in this chapter belong to me. In future chapters, I will tell you which OC belongs to whom, since I had previously asked for OCs from you guys. Well...read on!**

**...**

**Simple and Clean**

The sky was a brilliant blue and the only thing that was obstructing our view of the sky were those blue birds that chirped until they fell asleep. I was sitting on the steps of Kamikaze Home, the very generous foster home of Utopia that decided to take me in after my parents passed away three years ago. In my hands I clutched my journal—which is bound in the most expensive-looking golden leather and has a huge, black letter _K_ on the front cover to symbolize my name—and I closed it after looking at its contents.

I normally wear the same clothes every day—all my clothing is the same, mind you—a normal white button-up jacket over a red t-shirt, a pair of blue jean shorts and a brown leathered satchel over my shoulder. I put my journal in the satchel, just as I heard a whirring of wind brush past my ear.

I whipped my head to the side to see someone flying through the air on his bright pink and blue Keyblade Glider. What is a Keyblade Glider? A thing Keybearers use to traverse the worlds. Well, this would be the case, but the outside world is cut off from us. This has to be the only world in existence that doesn't allow us to leave.

I focused on the person standing atop the Glider. My best friend Domino, wearing a purple button-up shirt over a white undershirt, with black jeans, and was strangely barefoot. For some reason he was always barefoot because he says it makes him _one with nature_. I know, he's a pretty weird guy.

"Whoo-hoo!" came Domino's eccentric voice as his Glider screamed past my ear once again. "Kane, you've gotta try this!" He flew by my ear again, this time flying upward as the Glider connected with the wall of the foster home, beginning to climb up it with ease.

"I would, if I _had_ a Keyblade!" I yelled back to Domino. His Glider, once at the top of the foster home, started coming back down and flew past me, nearly making me fall over. "Damn, Domino!"

"Come on, man, this is fun!" he yelled back stopping in place and making his Glider do a 360 spin, and then he took off towards the lake.

He was always riding his Glider no matter the consequences. There weren't many Keyblade wielders living in Utopia. Domino was one of the only twenty that lived here. That's how scarce it was in our world. Coming back from the direction of the lake again was Domino, speeding closer to me.

"Wait…uh-oh," Domino breathed to himself, and he crashed straight through the bottom window of the foster home, glass shattering everywhere as my friend landed inside.

"Domino!" I yelled in both worry and anger. I opened up the door and stepped inside, hoping to see Domino. Well, I did. His body was covered in cuts from that glass. Towering over him was my foster parent, Ibiki Kamikaze.

Ibiki is a tall man, with long black hair that is tied in a ponytail and sideburns that were way too long. The only thing cute and cuddly about this man was the fact that he had those large, pale-pink eyes that didn't match with the rest of him.

"Domino, how many times must I tell you…" Ibiki growled, grabbing my friend's arm and yanking him up, forcing him to stand on his feet as his Glider vanished. "You cannot use that Keyblade Glider around the foster home! This is the seventh time this year breaking in like you did—"

"I'm sorry, okay?" Domino muttered under his breath, pouting. He crossed his arms and walked towards the exit. "I was just having a little fun."

"You have to understand, Domino, that not everyone has a Keyblade," Ibiki said in a now kind tone as he started to say the same speech he _always_ gives to Domino. "So the little ones may get jealous or confused at the sight of that thing. And do you think it's fair that _only_ you have a Keyblade, along with only a few others, while everyone else in this world have diddlysquat?"

"I guess it's not," Domino replied, staring at the ground. "Kane, let's go."

Domino—instead of stepping out the doorway—stepped out of the window that he broke. I followed him as I walked out the door and closed it behind me. When we were both outside, the sun shining down on us, Domino looked at me with a toothy grin and said, "Why do you live there again? You can just come live with me!"

"Your parents wouldn't let me anyway," I muttered, hanging my head down. I knew that was an impossibility. His parents, the two first Keyblade settlers in Utopia, were super strict about who he even hangs around with. The idea of him hanging around a lowly street rat must make his parents groan in disgust. "Besides, my home is with Ibiki and the others."

I sat back down, only to be accompanied by Domino next to me. The sun slowly started to set. Curfew would be in less than an hour.

Domino stood up as the wind slowly and calmly swept his hair to the side and out of his face. He looked up at the orange sun and said, "Ever wonder what's out there? I know from my parents that there are other worlds…but for some reason this is the only world to be blocked off. Ever wonder why that is?"

"No, I usually never wonder," I told him truthfully, and he sat down in depression. I never wanted to leave Utopia. It was a paradise for me. It's where all my brothers and sisters at Kamikaze Home were. And where Ibiki was. And especially where my friendship with Domino was destined to stay at. "And besides, Keybearers traverse the worlds. I doubt I could."

"But maybe you could," Domino replied, standing up and helping me to my feet. "Hey, can I check out the orphanage again?"

"Foster home."

"Same difference," Domino snapped back. "Tomorrow night, I wanna have dinner with you guys. I can be a polite person! And I'm sure Ibiki would love to have me over." Yeah right, after the umpteenth time he crashed into Ibiki's window. Domino noticed my near-laughter face and growled, "He would! He knows I'm your friend!"

"Fine, you can come over later," I replied back, not wanting to upset Domino. After all, he was my friend, so why let him down?

**.**

School the next day started like no other. Domino and I stepped into the school, marveling at how much the building changed over the summer. We were reacquainted with old friends, ran into old enemies, and were greeted by our old teachers.

Sitting in Mr. Brunner's classroom to the side of Domino was boring as we had to sit through his lectures he'd always give on the first day of school.

Mr. Brunner eyed Domino for a second and then looked over at the whole class, saying, "Okay, for the first project I will assign for the year—" I could hear just about every kid in the class moan in disgust. "—you should give me an essay or a poster about your research on the famous and legendary—" He eyed Domino again. "—Keyblade!"

"What?" I asked silently. The first project, on the _first_ day of school, was about the Keyblade? I didn't need to learn about that. My best friend was one of the only wielders. I should know a thing or two by now. But curiosity got the better of me, and whenever class dismissed to go to recess, I went straight upstairs to the library, Domino following closely behind me.

"Why are we going to the library?" he asked when I entered the room, avoiding his failed attempts to pull me out of there.

I ignored him and made my way to the desk, where the old librarian looked up at me with emotionless eyes. "Hello, ma'am, can you direct me to a book about the Keyblades?" The old woman looked down at her computer, typed in something rather fast, and looked back up. "Keyblade Wielders, a book on the back shelf, in the nonfiction section." She looked back to her computer and didn't bother saying anything more.

I walked to the back of the library and pulled out a golden book with the title _Keyblade Wielders_ on the front and the spine. I sat down at a table where Domino had sat at during my talk with the librarian. I opened the book when Domino shouted out, "Kane, what are we doing?"

"I'm researching," I said, trying to shut him up long enough for me to read the first few lines on the first page. "Let's see…yes, Keyblade were created by man three years ago. Nobody knows why they were created…it says here that there's a world called Sanctuary where the Keyblades and Keyblade Wielders were first born. Maybe that's where your parents used to live. In Sanctuary."

"Maybe," Domino said, suddenly intrigued as he took the book from me and flipped through the pages. "Man soon started developing their own beliefs. One of these beliefs was about the existence in a great deity in the sky that they called Kingdom Hearts, and that only a special key would unlock it's secrets. Special key…like a special Keyblade?"

"I don't know," I replied. I ran my finger along the many pages as I read. I was a speed reader, and I also had the strange gift of a photographic memory, so I was bound to read through this book quickly and never forget a word about it. I was never too interested in the outside world, but this book made me intrigued on what really is out there. "They say that all the worlds are connected. But our world is the only one cut off from the rest."

"It's because they thought that they were protecting us by keeping us cut off," Domino said. "What they were really doing is lying to everybody about what's out there. And I intend to find out where I come from." Domino stood up after slamming his hands on the desk, causing the librarian to snap a look our way. "Let's leave this place."

And with that, Domino walked out of the library without another word. What was that guy even thinking? Sometimes I wonder how that guy works. He sets his sights on something and always sees it until the very end. So what exactly was Domino's plan now? He couldn't exactly cross the barrier of our world even _with_ his Keyblade Glider.

I walked out of the library after him, the book under my arm, and continued the day as normal.

**.**

Domino and I stood in front of Kamikaze Home, as we were ready to eat dinner over there. Domino reached his hand out to knock on the door, but it opened before he was given the chance to. Standing in the doorway was one of the other Foster Kids, Tara Skye. Along with the Kamikaze, the Skye clan is very popular in Utopia.

The thirteen year old Tara had long caramel-brown hair that reached the back of her waist, and on top was also styled into two ponytails that hung on either side of her. Her eyes were crystal blue and her skin was fairly tan. She wore a simple t-shirt and jean shorts that were ripped at the knees.

"Hey, Kane, welcome back!" Tara said with a giddy smile. He raised her eyes to Domino's direction, who awkwardly smiled and waved to her. "And you brought Domino…the Keyblade wielder…what's he doing here?"

"He's eating dinner with us," I replied to her, and she grunted. I wasn't sure why, but Tara never really liked Domino. Then again, not many liked him just because of his abilities. But Tara never gave a reason as to why she hated him. "Go tell Ibiki."

She stuck her tongue at me. I pushed her playfully out the way and stepped into the large mansion-like house with Domino following close behind.

"Wow, this place is amazing!" Domino shouted loudly in that eccentric voice of his, running in front of me and stretching his arms out, looking as if he was breathing the air of the house. "Hey…you smell that? I smell chicken!"

"Ibiki's specialty," I told him, and I just laughed at Domino as he licked his lips.

"Actually, I cooked this one," Tara said from behind me, and I turned around to look at her weirdly. "Besides, mine are crunchier and juicer."

"I don't care who cooked it! I just want some!" Domino shouted, nearly foaming at the mouth. And then we heard two people screaming, and Domino was almost knocked over by two little kids. In their hands were toy swords, which apparently they always pretend are Keyblades. "Hey, watch it!"

"You watch it, old man!" one of the kid's voices screamed. Seven year old Kale Kamikaze, light pink eyes and short, curly pink hair, swung his sword at the other kid, five year old Ty Skye, light brown hair and dark brown eyes, who was Tara's little brother.

Kale swung his sword at Ty again, but Ty quickly rolled under the swing and kicked Kale in the knee, causing him to fall over in pain. "Ouch, Ty, that hurt!"

"Quit being a baby," Ty snapped back. "I younger than you and you still always complain!"

"That's enough," Tara said, looking rather aggravated, and she lifted little Ty up and held him over her shoulder as he kicked and thrashed to get out of her tight hold. "Calm yourself, little monster!" Ty finally calmed. "Man, I wish parenting was simple. No wonder Ibiki doesn't have an easy time with us."

Domino rushed into the kitchen to follow the smell of Tara's supposed juicy and crunchy chicken, so I followed him to be greeted by a table filled with plates, silverware, and already made food. The only thing not on there was the chicken. Ibiki sat in a chair at the table reading the newspaper, and he looked to the two of us and instantly grimaced.

"Hello…Domino." That smile Ibiki wore was _so_ not convincing.

"I'm eating over here, pops," Domino said, immediately taking his seat across from Ibiki, taking his own fork and plate like he owned them. "Kane said I could!"

"Kane," Ibiki growled, turning his head towards me. "We have enough people here as it is. But I guess…since he's already here—"

"Where's my chicken!?" Domino interrupted.

"—fine, he can eat here." I smiled at Ibiki, but Ibiki didn't return it.

Tara stepped in and took her fried chicken out of the pan, all ready to go. She placed a large chicken on each plate and sat down herself beside Domino. I sat on the other side of him. Kale and Ty ran in with the swords until Ibiki barked at them to sit down, so they each respectively sat on the sides of Tara and me.

And we dug in. Despite Tara's age, she fried her chicken better than Ibiki had ever done. Domino was finished before I even started, and that's saying something considering the size of the chicken. "Thank you, Tara!" Domino shouted, and Tara just blushed at that comment.

When we were all nearly finished eating, Ibiki said aloud, "So, Kane, how was your first day of school?"

"Mr. Brunner assigned a project," I replied. "And a big part of the project is to research the Keyblade and its origins, as well as the Keyblade wielders. So I was gonna use Domino as my main resource of information."

"So, he's finally going to become useful, eh?" Ibiki said with a laugh. "Good for him."

Domino stood up from his chair, walked to me, and nearly pulled me off of the chair when he tried to yank on my arm. "Kane, I have to show you something. Then you can study up on the Keyblade as long as you want." I nodded and followed him out of the kitchen, leaving Ibiki, Tara, Ty, and Kale behind.

Outside of Kamikaze Home, Domino stared out at the blue sky, the sun slowly setting, "Kane, I know you've seen my Keyblade a dozen times, bit now you're gonna see it in action!" I arched an eyebrow. He lifted his arm into the air, and appearing out of a flash of light in his hand was his Keyblade.

The handle was a mix of hot pink and black; an odd combination. Golden stars decorated the handle and made it look sparkly and amazing. The shaft was a light pink, and the blade itself was pink with black teeth that were curved into elegant points. The tips of each point were golden.

"Starlight!" Domino yelled, referring to the name of his Keyblade. "They say this blade was created to symbolize the many worlds out there, and how to us, they look like simple stars. My parents forged this Key especially for me."

He then did what he always did every day to have fun. He threw his Keyblade through the air like a boomerang and it disappeared from sight in the sky. It soon came blasting its way back as the form of his pink, black, and yellow Keyblade Glider that he eagerly jumped onto as it neared him. He willed the Glider to halt, and he held a hand out to me.

"I don't know…" I muttered, and he just grunted.

"Come on!" Domino shouted at me. "You'll never know what it feels like to soar through the skies unless you hop on! Now grab my hand!" I just sighed and grabbed onto his hand, and I was immediately pulled onto the Glider. "Hold on!"

I hurriedly wrapped my arms around his stomach as the Glider suddenly shot forward, faster than anything I'd ever seen. Using his will, Domino circled the Glider around Kamikaze Home three times, and then shot forward into the air. If I would have let go of Domino, I would have fallen off. Domino flew us up high as if we were going up a steep cliff.

Domino held onto the handles, steering our directions through the sky. He had eventually stopped us in the middle of the sky, right above the beautiful crystal-blue lake. The Lake of Destiny.

"See that, Kane?" Domino asked, pointing below us to the lake. "We've always gone to that lake at sunset, but we'd never been able to see the entire thing. Well now we can. Together."

He was right. I could see the entire perimeter of the lake, and where the water met the land. It was beautiful. And here I was thinking that it had been endless. But nothing is truly endless. "Hold on!"

I held on tightly to Domino as we nosedived towards the lake. One we got within a few feet of the lake, we darted forward where the bottom of the Glider barely skimmed the top of the water. I let one arm go of Domino and touched the water a foot below with my free hand. The cold wetness on my warm hand felt nice.

The Glider slid to a stop on the section of land right next to the lake, and the flying vehicle vanished from underneath us, dropping Domino and I onto the soft and luscious grass.

We looked ahead where the lake met the horizon, and saw the sun setting, casting an orange glow over the water and turning the clouds and sky a pinkish color. Shadows of the individual blades of grass, and shadows of Domino and I, elongated as the sun set.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Domino asked me, placing a calming hand on my shoulder. "If this world looks so beautiful at this time of day…then how do the others look? Why would anyone block off the other worlds from this one? Why are we doomed to stay here for all eternity?"

"I couldn't tell you," I replied, putting my hands behind my head as I yawned. I fell over backwards, letting my head hit the soft grass. "Everything seems so simple and clean here…is it like this in other worlds?"

"I can't remember my life before Utopia," Domino replied. "Three years ago my parents helped the forging of the Keyblades…they gave me a Keyblade as well. Then they brought us here to bond as a family. Not long after, a barrier was created over this world. The Keybearers who had traveled here from Sanctuary can never leave."

"Tragic," I said silently as the sun was soon out of sight, and the pink sky now turned an eerie purple and the lake became dark. The wind was soothing and made the grass sway back and forth. "I always thought that this world was my home for a reason. Why is it my destiny to stay here?"

"So, you're finally realizing your fascination for the outside world, are you?" Domino asked me, and I shot my head up. I hadn't thought about that. I never knew I would ever want to leave a paradise like Utopia. What could lay beyond the barrier? "Looks like you're finally coming along, Kane Carter."

"I knew I'd find the two of you chatting down here," a voice said to the side, and Domino and I looked towards the voice. It was Tara, walking over to us from the direction of the bridge that was a few yards away.

"Hey, Tara," Domino said with the wave of his hand.

"Hey, Kane," she replied, completely ignoring Domino, and she started chuckling at his groaning of annoyance. She walked up to me and sat beside me, staring up at the sky. The sky was filled with bright stars that I knew, from Domino, that each star was a whole other world. "Beautiful night, isn't it?"

"Sure is," I replied.

Domino dramatically flipped his long purple hair, and stood up straight, walking back towards the bridge without summoning his Glider again. "Coming? I'll walk the two of you home."

"Coming," I replied, standing up as I helped Tara to her feet. Tara and I started walking until we caught up with Domino, and the three of us continued walking up the grassy slope until we were on the bridge.

As we walked, we hadn't noticed that Domino had suddenly stopped. I made Tara halt as I looked behind us, and I saw Domino staring ahead with a blank stare in his silvery eyes.

"Domino?" Tara asked, slightly worried.

Domino's hair started blowing about in the wind. Which I then realized was weird. There _wasn't_ any wind blowing at that moment. Yet Domino's hair continued to sway. I snapped my fingers, and Domino's hair became still, and the boy became aware of his surroundings again.

"Coming," Domino replied, without much explanation as to what had happened. He caught up to Tara and I and we had eventually reached Kamikaze Home. "See ya tomorrow, Kane." We had bid my friend farewell as he walked across the street and to his own house.

Tara and I stepped into the house, were soon acquainted by Ibiki and the screaming Kale and Ty, and all of us had settled down for the night.

Before I had drifted off to sleep, I sat at my desk in my room and began writing about my day and what happened. It was almost like a storybook to me. And my photographic memory helped a whole lot. I could remember every quote, every action…everything.

And as I finish writing, I drift off into sleep.

.

**Did you like this chapter? As the title suggests, this chapter is just about the normal, everyday, simple and clean life of Kane Carter and Domino. What will happen next chapter? Only time will tell. PLEASE review! Have any questions? Ask me in the reviews, and I'll answer you right away. **


	3. From the Inside

**Kingdom Hearts does not belong to me, though that should be obvious. All OCs in this chapter belong to me. Warning: may contain blood and/or character death from this point on. Not really a spoiler.**

**…**

**From the Inside**

_"__Are you sure that finding a way to the outside world won't be dangerous?"_

_"__I have to see what lies beyond just Utopia. You're a Keybearer, like me. Think you can manage it?"_

_"__I was born ready for this moment. The Keybearers shall rise above and beyond this world."_

_"__But I want to bring my friend with me—no exceptions."_

_"__A non-Keybearer? Oh…are you talking about Kane?"_

The words, they kept playing in my mind as I slowly opened my eyes. A strange dream…all I saw was blackness, and the voices within the dream seemed hazy, as I couldn't hear them properly. Had they mentioned _me_? What was I thinking? It was only a dream.

A low rumble of thunder shook the air around me. I looked outside, but the sky was perfectly blue. Not a cloud in the sky. I slipped out of bed and headed for the door, but the minute my fingers touched the doorknob, the door swung open to reveal Tara there in her nightgown. "Good, you're awake," she said, obviously annoyed. "Started to think you would oversleep."

I blinked my eyes a few times, trying to get my vision to clear. I walked out of my room to hear the screaming voice of Kale. Tara scowled and covered her ears. And then someone rushed passed me…Domino? Domino ran down the hall away from me with Kale sitting on his shoulders and Ty attached to his leg.

"What's he doing here?" I asked Tara, who simply shrugged her shoulders.

"I woke up with him tapping on my window," Tara answered, obviously not happy with it. He's been here for about… thirty minutes. Kale and Ty really love him. He's great with children. Better than I thought he'd be…"

I barely listened to all she had to say. Without responding to her, I walked towards Domino, who whipped around at the sound of my feet clapping against the floor. "Hey, Kane!" he shouted, Kale soon dropping from his shoulders and falling to the ground with a thud, knocking Ty over.

"Why are you here?" I asked, though I knew I was going to get the most detailed answer that I really did not need.

"Well, you see, I wanted to come over here before you woke up, so whenever you do you can hurry up and get ready and then we can head over to school," Domino said without taking a breath. "Oh yeah, Tara let me in."

And with those words and with an awkward stare from Tara that showed her displeasure for Domino, I stepped into the bathroom to get ready for school.

**.**

On the way to school, the bright sun had stung at my eyes, but the faintest rumble of thunder can be heard in the distance. Still, I saw no clouds for as far as the eye can see. Domino noticed my eyes making contact with the sky and chuckled, saying, "Are you done yet? That thunder will never reach here, you know."

"You don't know that," I told him, walking slightly faster than him when we stepped onto campus. "So where are you going, Domino?"

"I've gotta see something for a teacher," Domino said, and then stared at the ground. "Before the bell rings you can go to the library and study some more for the project." Not making eye contact with me again, he darted off towards the building and walked in without looking back at me.

I shrugged it off and headed for the building as well, only to go upstairs and into the library where very few people were. It was only me, some girl, and the old librarian. I sat at a table and took the book _Keyblade Wielders_ from my backpack.

I started reading from where I last left off. Without realizing it, I had made it to very middle of the book. Up to this point, I learned a few things that I hadn't known before. There was a man by the name of Enix who was the true creator of the Keyblades. His whereabouts were unknown to the book.

Enix was one of the greatest Keyblade Masters out there and was the one who controlled the borders and barriers to the worlds, as well as directed the flow of the Lanes Between, the in-between realm in which all of the worlds in the vast multiverse were connected to.

I closed the book and tucked it away in a pocket in my backpack, slung the bag over my shoulder, and proceeded to exit out of the library. I had headed back downstairs and then to Mr. Brunner's classroom. When I got within a few feet of the classroom, a heard a voice say, "But I want to bring my friend with me—no exceptions."

Domino? If I didn't know any better, I'd say that those were the same words that were spoken…in my dream.

I peeked through the crack in the doorway. I saw Domino and Mr. Brunner, the only ones in the classroom. Brunner had his hands behind his back as he paced back and forth. "A non-Keybearer? Oh…are you talking about Kane?" There it was again. The exact words spoken in my dream! "No, I will not allow it."

I heard the unsheathing of metal as I saw Domino's cold metal Keyblade pressed against Brunner's neck. "I'm pretty sure that you are _not _the one orchestrating this operation, Elijah Brunner." The Keyblade vanished. "You seemed scared for a bit. I was only playing around." A mysterious glint of evilness in his eye appeared. "But Kane will be coming with us if our plan sees fruition."

"Why wouldn't this plan be a success?" Brunner yelled out. "We've got twenty on our side! Together we can—" The bell to officially start school rang throughout the classrooms and hallways. "—accomplish anything!"

Without entering, I decided to continue to see what exactly was going on here. Brunner walked to the back of the classroom to pick up a rusty old book that looked like a text book from over ninety years ago.

"It says here the sacrifice is needed," Brunner said, tracing his finger along the words in the book. "But it doesn't say… how many sacrifices! And what…is the sacrifice!?" The sound of a fist slamming on wood rang out, and I saw the splintering wood flying onto the ground as Brunner had slammed his fist down on a desk. "There are too many variables! Too many unknowns!"

Before things could escalate quickly, I knocked on the door and stepped inside. Domino's face lit up when he saw me, but Brunner's eyes stared me down as if I was the plague.

A single drop of sweat was seen dropping from Brunner's brow. His eyes darted from me, to Domino, and then to the ceiling, and then the ground. He seemed uneasy. But why? Was it because of what had just happened between him and Domino?

Students began entering the classroom and the deadly silence was now filled with the chatter of the entire class. I sat down next to Domino and said, "Why were you here so early?"

"I had to talk to Mr. Brunner about a project," Domino answered, obviously not telling the honest truth. I looked at him with eyes that basically said I didn't believe him, so he called out, "Mr. Brunner, come see!" The teacher walked to Domino and lowered his head towards him so he could hear my friend. "The project…it's all good, right?"

For a minute, I thought I saw a flickering light in Brunner's eyes, which reflected off of Domino's. Without speaking, Brunner gave off a wicked smile and stood up straight, walking to the front of the class. "Domino and I are conducting an experiment of sorts, children." Nearly everyone raised their eyebrow at that statement. "You remember the Keyblade I told you to research about." I was now curious. "Well…have a closer look at the _real thing_."

In a flash of light, the giant Key-shaped sword known as the Keyblade had materialized in Brunner's left hand. The entire weapon consisted of a black and white color scheme. The handle was a stark white bone. The tip of the blade was a skull, with several rows of sharp bones poking out that were obviously the teeth of the blade. "Skeleblade!"

That name was so simple for such a detailed blade…wait…I was missing the big picture here. Brunner was one of the twenty Keybearers? Is that why Domino and Brunner had made this _experiment_?

"Whoa, a Keyblade!" yelled someone from the back of the room.

"This world, cut off by the many others like it!" Brunner started, his long, scraggly gray hair blowing in a nonexistent wind. His glasses shined from the light of the light bulbs on the ceiling. He raised his glasses as he continued to talk. "You see before you, a Keyblade like no other. One fit to be wielded by one such as I! From the inside of this world are twenty Keybearers, and each are to aid in the destruction of this world's barrier! How would you like to see what's out there? What lies beyond the door to the outside world!"

Several kids cheered at that statement. Domino and I stayed silent. Domino looked a tad confused, but not as much as I was. "Elijah, what are you doing?" Domino asked.

Brunner ignored him. "Help me in the destruction of this barrier…by sacrificing yourselves!" The air suddenly seemed two times more chillier than it was. "Meet the cold steel blade that I hold before me!" He held out Skeleblade as a wind blew through the room and everyone's hair started flowing in the wind. "Let it be known that your sacrifices will not be in vain!" His eyes almost seemed…demonic. His eye color faded from dark blue to golden, and his pupils darted back and forth.

"What?" Domino shouted, and Brunner swung the Keyblade through the air, a hot white light shooting from its tip and slamming against the chest of an unsuspecting student. Said student flew from his desk and into the wall at the back of the room. The boy crumpled to the floor in pain. "What are you doing?"

"Domino, help me out!" Brunner shouted, holding his free hand out to Domino. "When Keybearers are together, our powers are joined! Don't you wanna get to the outside world that has been cut off from us!? Then help me sacrifice enough people so the barrier will shatter!"

He pointed his Keyblade at another student, and a white hot light shot from the tip. Before it reached the student, the white light began fading, getting darker. The warm feeling I felt from the once precious light started feeling cold and scary. The hair on the back of my neck and, well, everywhere else, stood on end. What was once a blast of light was now a blast of…blackness? The darkest thing I'd ever seen collided with the chest of that poor girl, and her body incinerated before our eyes. Gone in the blink of an eye.

"Black magic?" I asked. I had read about this form of magic. The complete opposite of light, this magic was darker than anything. A forbidden method of getting what you most desire. Black magic, or Dark Magic, was supposed to be… fictional. "How…?"

"Darkness…" Domino muttered in awe. "It isn't supposed to…exist…"

Darkness? Another name for Dark Magic? Brunner swung his Skeleblade, slicing through the bodies of three unsuspecting students. Their screams faded away as each of them died. "Everybody, get out of here now!" I yelled without much thinking, and every other student darted towards the doorway in fright.

"Don't leave me without a proper sacrifice!" Brunner shouted out, and vanished. Silence replaced the chaos. And then, in seconds, he reappeared in front of the doorway, blocking off the exit as he swung his Keyblade, slicing through the body of a student, blood splattering to the ground and staining Brunner's blade. "You non-Keybearers _have _to die, for us to truly see what's out there!"

He swung his Keyblade swiftly, his glasses falling off and clattering to the ground, the left lens shattering. "Do something!" I shouted at Domino, but he seemed to be in a trance. "Domino!"

Domino shook his head and jumped forward, slamming his now materialized Keyblade into the Skeleblade. "What the hell are you doing, Domino!?" Brunner screamed loudly. "We're working together!" He jumped back from Domino, and then rushed forward passed Domino and sunk his blade into a kid's neck, blood sputtering out and onto the floor, onto Brunner's shirt, and onto his face. He yanked his blade out of the neck of that kid, the kid falling to the ground, dead.

"Elijah!" Domino shouted. "What has gotten into you!?"

"You!" Brunner shouted, swinging his Keyblade at Domino, but Domino blocked it easily. Domino showed a face of confusion as Brunner backed away from Domino once again. I looked to the doorway. The last three students that were still alive had escaped passed Brunner as soon as Brunner and Domino exchanged blades.

"I've got it," Brunner muttered. "Time to make you kneel at my feet, Domino! I'm done with you calling the shots!" He blasted forward, a flurry of '_Darkness_' blowing about behind him as he rushed forward through the air. Immediately fear struck me. My eyes widened and blood dripped off of my bottom lip. I felt the cold Skeleblade sliding swiftly through my stomach. I looked down and saw my stomach covered in blade, the Skeleblade staying within my stomach. Brunner started laughing as he said, "Domino, how you like this!?"

"Kane!" Domino shouted. "Don't you _fucking_ touch him!" Domino held his hand out and a blast of…_Darkness_…escaped his palm, blasting towards Brunner. Brunner quickly withdrew his Skeleblade and I felt relief, but because of the intense pain and loss of blood, I fell over and hit my head on the ground. I looked up to see what was happening.

Brunner held out his free hand as the darkness Domino pushed forward reached him. The darkness collided with Brunner's hand and the two held their ground with a stream of darkness connecting the two. Brunner tried to push the darkness back, but it wouldn't budge Domino.

I saw a look of pure hatred in Domino's eyes. His silvery eyes glinted and took on a reddish tint. Blood leaked from his right eye. "Why…do you have this much darkness?" Brunner asked Domino, but Domino continued to scowl as he threw his Keyblade at Brunner, the blade now inches away from Brunner's chest.

In fear, Brunner let go of the darkness that Domino was pushing forward to avoid Domino's Keyblade. The Keyblade flew passed Brunner as he stepped to the side, but the darkness Domino was conjuring slammed into Brunner, and the man flew into the wall, sinking to the ground, his own Keyblade flying into the air above him.

"It is all your fault," Elijah Brunner muttered, looking breathless as blood soaked out of a mysterious wound in his stomach. "You supplied me with this darkness. You made me do this…all for your stupid goal of reaching the outside world!"

"What's he talking…" I muttered, feeling lightheaded. "…about?" What _did _he mean about Domino _supplying_ Brunner with darkness? How was that possible? And he said this was _Domino's stupid goal_, even though Brunner would kill for the opportunity to see the outside world.

"Don't listen to him, Kane," Domino muttered. "It's all over."

I had failed to remember the Skeleblade that was in the air, twirling above Brunner's fallen body. The blade fell down tip-first and pierced through Brunner's chest, possibly entering the man's heart.

"Ugh," Brunner muttered as his eyes slowly closed, his breathing lowering. In his last dying breath, a flurry of darkness shot from Brunner's now raised hand, and it aimed straight for me. Before it reached me, I could tell Brunner had just died.

"No!" Domino's voice screamed over me, and he jumped in the way of the blast of darkness, wrapping his arms around me. The darkness collided with his back, and the two of us fell to the floor. He was right on top of me, the darkness burning a hole in the back of Domino's shirt, and the blood seeping from my stomach wound which stained the front Domino's shirt.

"Domino…you could let go," I muttered, but Domino refused. He embraced me in the tightest hug ever. I coughed loudly to get him to hear me, so he immediately let go of me and pulled me up to my feet. I clutched my bloody stomach, and then raised my hand to see bright red blood dripping from my hand.

"Cura!" Domino shouted, raising his hand, and a warm glow flowed through my blood. It felt…nice, and warm, like lying on the beach next to the Lake of Destiny during the summer. The wound…I felt it closing up, and the blood seemed to vanish as well. "Are you alright?"

"What was Brunner's problem?" I asked Domino, standing up straight and staring into his eyes. My breathing was rapid and my heart beat went a mile a minute. I was scared out of my wits. "What was he talking about?"

"The man was crazy," Domino replied. "But he's gone now…" As if on cue, Brunner's body became solid black, and the body sunk into the shadows.

"Everyone…" I muttered to myself, looking around the room. Several desks were toppled over. Chairs and books littered the ground. And more disturbingly, bodies of dead students and blood littered the floor, staining the room red.

After that, not much happened. The principal had called an ambulance because that one kid who was hit with the light, the very first of Brunner's attacks, was still alive, but his ribs were broken and his left lung had taken a direct hit from the light. Only three others besides that kid, Domino, and I, were still alive. The other three had hit in the bathroom until the climax was over.

As with every investigation, a detective of sorts had called Domino and I into questioning because we were two of the only witnesses, and that Brunner had vanished from existence.

Domino and I sat side-by-side on a bench in an office within the Utopian Police Department. The man in front of us had his face shrouded by the fedora he was wearing. "And he just…sunk into the ground?"

"Yes," was my reply. Domino didn't really want to say much about what had happened, so I was the one answering all of the questions. "Into the darkness—"

"No such thing!" The man slammed his fist onto his desk. "Black magic, light magic, darkness, Keyblades…all a bunch of tomfoolery that I will not be messing with. What I am hearing from you is a long, drawn-out fairy tale. Now get out of here before I decide to throw you into jail for concealing a secret that can very well help in this investigation."

**.**

The rout home felt long. After stepping onto the steps at Kamikaze Home, without even bothering to knock or open the door, the door swung open on its own and arms wrapped around my neck in a warm embrace. I tried to break free from Tara's grip, but she wouldn't let go.

I could hear her faintly sobbing into my shoulder. "I heard…what happened…" Tara muttered quietly. "Are you…are you _two_ alright?"

"Just a little shaken up," Domino replied. "The guy was definitely on something. Why else would he kill almost the entire class—"

"He _killed_ most of the class!?" Tara asked, and gripped me tighter. Thanks a lot, Domino. I'd never hear the end of this from Tara. She'd become more protective of me than ever. "I'm glad…the two of you are alright."

"Thanks for the concern," Domino replied behind me, and from the sound of his footsteps he was walking away to his own place. "Bye Kane, bye Tara!"

His footsteps vanished as he was gone. After finally getting Tara to let go of me, I headed inside, got ambushed by Kale and Ty, and was showered with worry by Ibiki. When I headed off to bed that night, I began having a dream.

Another dream.

_"__Elijah's actions…just a simple setback. It shouldn't get in the way of our overall goal."_

_"__Then what shall we do…tomorrow?"_

_"__The ultimate sacrifice. Prepare for the border to be crushed, the barrier to be shattered, and the outside world to be _finally_reachable!"_


	4. New Divide

**Kingdom Hearts does not belong to me, though that should be obvious. All OCs in this chapter belong to me.**

…

**New Divide**

The tapping of water echoed off of the walls around me. The air shook and my entire body felt numb. High pitched screaming deafened me, and I clutched my hand into a fist to grab onto anything I could. It was futile. I felt nothingness all around me. A boom filled the air. Sounds of the shattering of glass filled my eardrum as I felt my head hit the floor.

I grabbed at the floor, but couldn't get a grip on anything that could help me up. Following the boom, the ground shook violently and I felt as if the ground would split in two underneath me. And then my eyes snapped open. I was laying on the ground next to my bed.

The floor was wet from the rain that was outside, and I saw that the window next to my bed had shattered, revealing the dark sky above. Every second, a new strike of lighting shot from the sky and hit the ground with such force that it destroyed everything in its path. Since my window was now completely open, the wind from outside blew my hair around my face as I tried to stand up. I slipped, fell over, and hit my head on the side of my bed.

I heard my door open, and the screaming of Tara came soon after. I was rolled onto my back so I could look into the eyes of Tara, who soon helped me to my feet and grabbed me in a hug. "Kane, what's happening!?" Tara screamed, looking genuinely frightened. "We never have weather like this!"

"I don't know," I replied silently, taking my cellphone off of the table to the side of my bed. I dialed Domino's number, but the usual answer machine took over, and I hung it up, upset. I looked to the broken window and another strike of lightning escaped the dark clouds above and slammed against the ground outside, sending a wave of painless yet definitely noticeable electricity through me and Tara's bodies. "Damn!" I shouted as the shaking that followed soon after knocked me off of my feet.

I tried standing again, Tara once again helping me up. Ibiki had stepped into my room then, both Kale and Ty on each of his shoulders, wrapping their arms around the man's neck as he pulled no sweat keeping the two up. "We need to get to shelter, Kane, Tara!"

Tara nodded, but I released myself from her grip and yelled out, "I have to go find Domino!" Before I allowed Ibiki and Tara to protest, I rushed past them and fled out of my room, stomping my way downstairs and into the living room where glass and wood littered the ground. The door had blown right off of its hinges, the chandelier that normally hung above had crashed into the ground, and each of the windows was shattered.

I ran outside…big mistake. A wind stronger than anything I've encountered before had pushed me to the side, and I flew back into the house. I stood up again and made a mad dash for the outside. This time I had more luck and was able to get across the street, where Domino's house was, the door gone and each window shattered. The roof was caved in.

"Oh god," I said between shaky breaths. I cautiously stepped into the house. Things were scattered everywhere. I looked above to where the ceiling and roof caved in, letting rotting wood and things from their attic scattered across the living room floor. Underneath a pile of rubble was someone I recognized…Domino's mother. "No!" I ran to her and saw her more clearly. Her eyes were wide open in shock as if she had just seen something that would've scarred her for life. Her left eye was bloodshot, and blood leaked from under the rubble that crushed her.

She was dead. "Stop…him…" a raspy voice said from behind me. I whipped around and saw Domino's father in the corner of the room, covered in blood, as he began walking, or rather, limping towards me. "Kane Carter…stop him."

"Stop who!?" I yelled out, rushing to him. But it was too late. The man fell over before we reached each other, and his head hit the floor. His mouth opened in shock as blood dribbled down his lips. He was dead as well. In his bare back was a gash that looked as though he was stabbed. Blood poured from the wound. I winced at how horrible the sight looked.

I then heard the sound of cracking glass. I looked to the source of the noise. The only thing in the house that was still intact. On a broken shelf in the other corner of the room was a glass picture frame with a photo of Domino and I in it. Domino wore that cheesy grin of his with one arm around me. This was maybe around a year ago. Had he still kept that old photo?

The cracking sound came from that picture frame. A large crack had appeared in between the two of us. I walked closer to it when it happened. The side of the crack that Domino was on shattered, while the side with me on it remained calm and intact.

"What the hell?" I asked myself. I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I looked to my side and saw Tara, staring up into my eyes. "Tara?"

"You want me to help you find Domino?" she asked. Why would she even want to help him? I thought she hated him to death. "Let's go check the Lake of Destiny."

That was a good idea. "Where are Kale, Ty, and Ibiki?" I asked, now realizing they weren't here.

"Basement," Tara replied. "Let's go now—" What sounded like an explosion erupted outside, and jolts of electricity filled my body and I fell to the ground. "It struck the house?"

"Come on!" I replied, standing up, grabbing Tara's hand, and the two of us ran out of Domino's house and headed for the bridge that overlooked the Lake of Destiny. Once on the bridge, we looked off of the edge to the lake. The water looked almost purple in the dark underneath the clouds. The waves were rushing fastly because of the fierce winds that threatened to blow Tara and I away. The water looked ready to overflow and escape that lake.

What was weird though was that sixteen people stood around the left side of the lake, each with a Keyblade in hand and pointing towards the sky. Among them though was not Domino. I couldn't see him anywhere. As if reading my thoughts, Tara said, "Um, I found him."

I followed her gaze to the center of the lake. A few feet above the lake, floating in the air, was Domino, his Starlight pointed towards the sky and his right hand towards the water. How the hell was he even floating like that without his glider?

I looked at all seventeen Keybearers. Shouldn't there have been twenty? Oh, that's right! Flashes of Mr. Brunner dying by his own Keyblade, and of Domino's parents in their dying states flashed through my head. Three Keybearers were dead, and seventeen remained.

"Ah, Kane, you've made it!" Domino shouted out, his eyes darting from the sky to me. His lips curled around his cheeks in a wicked smile as he said, "Oh, I see you brought Tara with you."

"What are you doing, Domino!?" I shouted towards him, and he flew from where he was straight to the bridge, placing his bare feet on the ground as he was now face-to-face with me. "What is this?"

"The true destiny, Kane, so behold!" Domino shouted, motioning his hand to the other sixteen Keybearers. From each Keyblade came a dark light…no…it was darkness. Each beam of darkness shot to the sky and escaped beyond the clouds. "Behold what I was always destined to do! Opening up the barrier!"

The clouds directly above the lake parted, revealing a circle of light in the middle of all of the dark clouds, shining a bright light upon the lake and making it glow from purple to pink. "What the…" Tara said to the side of me. "Domino, stop whatever it is you're doing!"

"You mean creating a destiny designed just for me and Kane!?" Domino asked, staring at Tara. "Kane and I will live on beyond this world! Now…the barrier shall be crushed!" He clenched a fist, and what I heard next pierced through my eardrums. The shattering of glass was heard all around me, and Tara and I immediately clutched our ears at the loud noise. The rain poured full throttle now. Waterspouts started to funnel out of the lake and towards the now black sky. "Side by side with light is darkness, the entity that truly makes up our world!"

"Domino!" a voice yelled, and running onto the bridge and to where Tara and I stood was Ibiki, with Ty on his shoulder and Kale to his side. "What are you doing!?" He never got his answer. Domino held a hand out and blasted darkness from his palm, which collided with Ibiki's body and sent him and Ty flying off of the bridge and into the lake.

"Ty!" Tara shouted, staring out to the blackening water of the lake. The heads of Ibiki and Ty bobbed up and out of the water. Good, they were safe. "You monster! And I thought you were my friend." But she _hated_ the guy! "If Ty gets hurt because of something you did, I will _end_ you."

"How?" Domino asked with that smug smile of his. "You don't have any powers. I have the Keyblade on my side, and what do you have? Oh, that's right. Nothing." Tara scowled at that. Domino rose ten feet into the air and said, "Kane, you're coming with me to the outside world! We can be together forever! Without anything stopping our true destiny!"

Against my will, my feet lifted off of the ground. With Tara screaming underneath me for me to come down, I noticed that I had risen into the air to where I was even with Domino. His long purple hair blew dramatically in the wind, and he reached his hand forward, grabbing my hand in his. The clouds above me parted to reveal the black sky that was beyond it. Without warning, a black strike of lightning shot from the opening in the clouds and slammed into my body.

What I felt was unreal. A loud booming in my ears, each hair on my body standing on in, and more importantly, a burning sensation on my scalp that felt as though my hair was being lit on fire. My ears were ringing as my teeth shook and my entire body tingled from the massive amounts of electricity entering my body.

"KANE!" I heard the voice of Tara scream below me. I opened my eyes. I was lying in Domino's arms as he blasted himself towards the sky like a rocket. I looked below me…to see Tara hanging on to Domino's foot, trying to keep herself from falling. Handing onto the back of her shirt was Kale who decided to try and help Tara out, screaming her name over and over again.

"Tara!" Kale Kamikaze screamed out, and Tara had finally realized that the kid had latched himself onto her without her realizing.

Domino looked down, scowled, and then smiled as we inched ever closer to the black sky. "I guess you'd like to have friends along for the ride, eh, Kane?" I decided not to answer Domino. "That's okay! As long as we're together!"

I shook my head, recovering from that shock the lightning had given me, and looked below. The lake was completely overflowing. The water had risen so much in so little time that the water had barely passed over the bridge. Ibiki and Ty were somewhere below, but I could not see them any longer. The sixteen Keybearers below had all vanished. I could not see where they had gone.

And then we broke through the clouds. Beyond the clouds was nothing but blackness. I closed my eyes, hoping the ride would soon end. When I opened them again, I was sitting on a flat surface, with Domino standing by my side and Tara and Kale lying on their backs, utterly exhausted.

"Where…" I muttered, but soon realized where I was. From the looks of it, we were in…space? No, that's not the word for it. Domino had called this something before…I remember it. It was the Lanes Between, a mystical road leading to every other world imaginable. I stood up shakily and ran over to Tara and Kale. The three of us took in the sights together.

The sky was black, but thousands upon thousands of shining stars littered the entire place. The ground we were standing on looked like a road. It looked shiny like a crystal, and it went forward, spiraled, and zigzagged, many different crossroads heading off to the many different stars. I looked back to Domino, who stood in front of the bright shining star that I guessed was our home of Utopia.

The barrier that separated our world from the Lanes Between had been shattered, and the road now connected to the ball of light. I had always thought that stars would burn you up if you got close to it. But this one…as close as it may be…just gave off a fresh, warm light. But that feeling of warmth faded and was replaced with an eerie, dark feeling. The white of the star fade away to black, until it was just a swirling ball of darkness.

"What happened?" Kale asked in that innocent voice of his.

Domino answered, "We broke through the barrier. We now have unlimited access to the rest of the worlds! The road we stand on now is one of many roads within the Lanes Between. Each road leads to a different world. This mast multiverse is just waiting for Kane and I!"

"What the hell kind of story are you making up?" Tara asked, stomping her way over to Domino. "We cannot be off of our world…right, Kane?" I stared at her blankly. I was at a loss for words. She lifted up Kale and put him sitting on her shoulders. "Ibiki and Ty…they're…"

"Sacrificed," Domino replied. "Shattering that wall that divided here and there needed a worthy sacrifice. You three are not a part of that sacrifice. And now the other Keybearers can be free forever. Not locked up in that prison of a world. Welcome to the outside!"


	5. Disenchanted

**Kingdom Hearts does not belong to me, though that should be obvious. All OCs in this chapter belong to me. The words from here on may be Kingdom Hearts original worlds, Disney movies, other franchise movies, or based off of events that happened in the real world, or even worlds that I created myself. The world in here is a world that could be based off of real events in history.**

**…**

**Disenchanted**

Hearing Domino and Tara snap back and forth at each other was really starting to piss me off. They fought for so long I had taken out my journal and started playing a tick-tack-toe game with Kale. Of course I let him win to make him feel better. I looked up from my game when Tara screamed, "You _murdered _Ty for your own agenda?" She wiped a tear from her eye and continued; "_Now_ I have a reason to hate you."

"You don't know what it was like," Domino replied, a tear of his own shedding in his left eye. "Looking at all of these stars, brings back some of the really old memories. Me and my family lived in the world where the Keyblades were created. We lived a fantastic life. Me, my parents, my uncle, and my brother and sister, along with two cousins. My parents became Keybearers, and soon passed that power to me. Not long after the invention of the Keyblade, Utopia wanted nothing to do with it. So they passed a law to keep all of its citizens inside. Some tried to escape, so the mayor of Utopia called upon the Keybearers to lock away the world from the rest. To seal the world shut, they needed twenty Keybearers. Seventeen, plus me and my parents. But we could only close it off from the inside. So once the world's barrier was created, all of the Keybearers chosen…were trapped inside."

"So you never got to see your other relatives again, or any of your old friends," Tara replied, now taking on a sad look. "And let me guess…only twenty Keybearers could unlock the barrier again."

"Creating a barrier is one thing, but destroying one is another," Domino said grimly. "A massive sacrifice was needed. But now we can see what's truly out there. See these lanes? The one that connects all of the worlds and whatever's in between? It's what connects us to our destiny, Kane."

Tara looked at him angrily and stomped over to him. "Ibiki and Ty are probably _dead_," Tara grumbled. "My brother should've come with us."

"Don't be mad," came the small voice of Kale, and he stood up, scurrying his way to Tara and wrapping his arms around her waist. "You still got me and I won't go nowhere!"

"Thanks," Tara said, bending down and giving the smaller boy a hug back. "Well now that we're out of our world then…" She looked at Domino angrily as she said that. "What other world can we go to, to settle down in?"

"The nearest one?" I suggested. My voice felt a little off, like I hadn't spoken in years. Tara looked to me and then gasped. "What's…wrong?" I asked, now confused as she made her way slowly towards me.

"You're hair…there's a silver streak going down the middle," she muttered. She took a small mirror out of her pocket—so convenient, right?—and I looked into it. As she had said, a silvery streak went down the center of my hair, the same color as Domino's eyes. "What had that lightning done to you?"

"I think it's a great look for you, Kane," Domino interjected. "I'd keep that color, if I were you." _Thanks for the support, Domino_. "The lightning that struck you earlier must have had altered your DNA structure a little and has turned your black hair to silver. Anyway, enough about hair—" I pocketed the small mirror. "Let's go to that world!" He pointed to a glowing orb of light that definitely _wasn't_ the nearest one to us. He made his Starlight appear on command, and he threw it into the air, the Keyblade disappearing beyond the dark black starry sky. It came back like a boomerang as his Keyblade Glider, and he immediately jumped on it, pulling me onto it as well.

"Hey, wait up!" Kale shouted, jumping onto it behind me, beckoning Tara to join us as well. As if like magic—which I guess, Keyblades _were _magic—the Glider elongated and was now able to fit four people. Tara lifted up Kale and had him wrap his arms around her neck, while she wrapped her arms around my stomach, as I did the same with Domino. "Let's go! I wanna see how flying works! I've seen you do this before, ya know!"

Domino smiled and said, "I love the fire in that heart of yours, little one." At least he was able to keep his loving of children even after supposedly murdering all of Utopia. He was still more of a parent than anyone I knew. Probably enough of a parent to match Ibiki. "Now let's go!"

Immediately, the Glider rose off of the crystal road beneath us and then flew forward. He steered us in a direction towards a certain ball of light, which grew warmer and warmer as we neared it. After we were within a few feet from it, the Glider vanished from underneath our feet. Domino looked back to me, took my hand, and walked into the light, me right behind him. Kale was a little shaky at first, but then decided to run in after us. Tara did the same.

The light had overtaken us. Within seconds the warmth vanished, and was replaced by the cool night air. The sky was black, with only a few stars visible. We were standing in the middle of what looked like a forest. Trees stretched up all around us, and small animals raced away from us at our arrival.

"Where are we?" I asked. Domino didn't know, as shown by his silence. And that's when I heard it. The mumbling of someone from somewhere near where we were. "You hear that?" Domino ignored me and stepped forward, walking away from our group and deeper into the forest. "Domino? Wait up." I growled at him and stepped forward.

Tara and Kale reluctantly followed me as we tried to catch up with Domino, going deeper into the black forest. Suddenly Domino stopped. I ended up bumping into him from the lack of light. Suddenly, his face was illuminated with a reddish glow coming from ahead. I saw a pile of logs and branches, covered in fire.

Standing behind the fire that began to grow was a person who didn't look older than sixteen. Her long brown hair cascaded over her shoulders, and her eyes were a piercing blue. Dark shadows lay under her eyes as if she had barely slept in ages. The both of her hands hung over the fire as if to keep warm…at least that's what it seemed like.

She twirled her hands in the air above the fire, gradually putting them closer to the fire until they were actually within the fire. At her command, the fire began swirling into a vortex and rose above her as she twirled her hands. It was as if she were magic.

"Ah, I was beginning to wonder when I was to get caught," the girl muttered rather loudly, enough for me to hear at least. Kale hid behind Tara, gripping the back of her shirt shakily and wouldn't let go. "Though it is not whom I thought it was."

"And who are you, Miss Magic?" Domino said, walking forward with no fear whatsoever. I hesitantly followed him into the clearing; a circle of grass in the center of the forest, where the fire had now grown exponentially, a vortex of fire escaping past the trees.

"Hehe, the time has arrived," the girl spoke, and the fire dropped, extinguishing almost instantly, and we were bathed in darkness once again. The girl never spoke up again.

"What in the Hell happened to that light?" a voice said suddenly. A man's voice. He couldn't have been over thirty at least. Suddenly we saw light again. Lamps lit with fire hung from the man's hands. Three people were behind him. The man had dark hair and dark eyes, with slightly tanned skin. "Were it the Devil's spawn?"

"And who are these four?" one of the man's followers asked. "They do not look like Salem citizens, Governor Thomas."

The man who had first spoken, Thomas, stared at the four of us in confusion. "They be not dressed like us. You four playin' with witchery, aren't ya?" At those simple words, the clicking of guns were made all around us. There were at least three guns pointed in our direction. I had never seen one this close up before. Kale screamed when the men pulled out these guns, and hid further behind Tara. "What was that there light?"

I almost stepped forward to start telling this guy off, but Domino simply put a hand on my chest to push me back, and he stepped forward, holding a hand out to Thomas as if to get the middle-aged man to shake it. Thomas didn't look too pleased.

"What you saw earlier was a fire, good sir," Domino said in his attempt at a polite voice. "There was a girl here. We simply ended up meeting up with her, but it appears she disappeared. Maybe that's what brought you here."

"Do you know the _name_ of this girl?" one of the men behind Thomas asked. Domino shook his head, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly with a nervous grin smeared across his face. "And what are you doing in Devil's Woods?"

"Devil's Woods?" Tara asked, utterly clueless. "Is that what this forest is called?"

"Don't play dumb with me," Thomas snapped at her, causing Tara and Kale to jump backwards in surprise. "I never leave the town of Salem often, but that doesn't make me oblivious. There be something weird about the four of you. Be you a witch!?" Even though he didn't show it, I couldn't help but think he was directing that absurd comment to Tara.

"Witch?" Tara asked, throwing her hands into the air as if to protect herself. "What does that even mean?"

A gun was immediately pressed at her throat. "If ye be a witch, then ye will be surviving this anyway," the person who held the gun said in a gruff voice. "Governor Thomas, she be hanged by sunrise. Let's bring her in."

"_Hanged_?" I asked with a shaky voice. We had learned about all of this in school. In some places in the universe, for doing bad things, they would get hanged for it. A rope tied around their neck, and they would be forced to choke to death. We were in a world that had these types of laws. "No, we won't allow it!"

"Right," Domino said and stood next to me, arms crossed. "You can't take this poor girl!"

"Are ye helpin' a witch?" the gruff voiced man asked loudly. "Then ye all be witches! Kill the lot of them!"

"I don't think so!" Domino yelled, and in his hand appeared Starlight. Thomas's eyes grew wide, and the three men following him each stepped back a few feet. "You see, I am a powerful witch capable of more than you could ever realize. I am from a world far away from here, a place that you couldn't even imagine about! And now, with my witchcraft, I will slaughter all of you!"

Ah, good old Domino, always with the theatrics. Thomas drew his own small gun from a holster on his belt, and he pointed it to Domino. "Witch! You shall die before morrow comes!" A bullet escaped the gun, and before it could even get near Domino, he swung Starlight, and it deflected the bullet, sending the projectile towards one of Thomas's men, going straight through the gruff man's neck. "You're all going to burn in hell for that!"

He pointed a gun to Kale. "So young," he continued. "But if he allies with you, then he must be a witch as well!" And he fired a bullet towards Kale, who Tara tried to shield. The bullet neared Tara, and I screamed out in anger. Immediately, I felt a rush of energy escape my being. My hair stood up on end, and my eyes felt like they were burning. I looked to my hands and saw yellow energy surrounding them.

_Lighting_ shot from my fingertips and flew at the bullet. Once the lightning hit the bullet, it slowed it down and made it fall to the ground. "How…" I muttered. I looked to Domino, who smiled at what I had just done. I couldn't help but smirk as well, proud of what I did to protect Tara and Kale. I saw Thomas's scared glare, and I pointed the palm of my hand at him menacingly, causing him to back up.

"You're all…" he muttered, unsure of what to say. "You're all freaks! The Devil may have won this day, but come tomorrow all you witches shall face the flames of hell where ye belong!"

With his two remaining bodyguards, Thomas fled the scene. Domino, looking proud of me, swung his hand through the air, and I did the same, and we gave each other a high-five. Our feeling of victory was short lived as we heard the shout of Kale.

I whipped my head around, turning to Kale. But…Tara wasn't there. Kale immediately yelled, "Tara's gone! What happened to her?"

I twisted my body all around trying to see if I could locate Tara, but she wasn't within my line of sight. The sound of clapping sounded directly behind me, and I turned back around to see that it wasn't Domino. Now standing in between Domino and I was that girl from earlier who had conjured the fire.

"Abigail," the girl said, most likely replying to Domino's earlier question that she had vanished too early to even answer. Abigail looked into my eyes, and then to Domino's, and then down at Kale. "The one you call Tara is long gone. By now, she is already in the clutches of that evil witch who wants to murder the entire town."

"How can we find her?" Kale yelled out bravely, though still looking pretty frightened. Abigail bent down and put a finger underneath Kale's chin, making the child smile and blush.

"The evil witch is most likely going to pin all of the blame on Tara," Abigail replied. "If that happens, your friend's as good as dead where she's going." Kale jumped at that statement. "She'll be hanged, burned, or drowned depending on Deputy Governor Thomas's mood."

"What exactly is a witch? Some woman with powers of magic and stuff like that?" Domino asked.

Abigail laughed at him. "Thomas says he discovered the witches. What a witch is, is someone from Hell sent straight from the Devil himself, the almighty bad guy. Witches take the place of some person, male or female, in town, and nobody really notices the difference. Here, if you're accused of being one, you'll be killed, innocent or not."

"Where is _here_?" Kale decided to say. We can't reveal that we're from another world! Sure, Domino said that earlier, but only to pose as a witch. This girl, Abigail, knows we're not witches, so she may be suspicious!

"Salem, of course," Abigail muttered, not really showing that much confusion. "And to answer the question on your mind, Domino—" She looked to Domino and smiled. "—yes, I _am _a witch, but not one that's trying to kill the town. Heavens, no."

"Help us find Tara," I said, but Domino quickly interjected.

"Forget about her, Kane!" I stared at Domino like he had just claimed himself as being the Devil. "Just consider her one of the mighty sacrifices needed to open the door and be free!" I know he didn't say any specifics about our world, but still, what he had just said must've confused Abigail at least a _little bit_.

"You want me to let her go!?" I asked. "You don't care about anyone except for yourself and these selfish goals of traveling the worlds." Okay, at this point, I didn't really care if I confused the hell out of Abigail. She just stood there and watched the whole show as it played out. "Did Ibiki and Ty mean nothing to you!?"

"You're the only one that means something to me, Kane!" Domino shouted out. Oh, one of these speeches again. "The others don't have the connection that we do! None of them would be fun to travel with! All Tara's done is complain so far since we left! She claims to be my friend, but if she was, she would have been supportive and have been accepting of—"

"Accepting of _what_, Domino!?" I yelled at him. "At her own _brother's _death!?" This time Domino silenced. We had never really had an argument like this before. Kale was now cowering next to Abigail who put a comforting hand on his shoulder to calm the boy down. "I thought I could accept the Keyblade in my life…I can't. Just go. I'll find Tara myself without your help."

I turned from him and began running out the woods, when his hand grabbed hold of my shoulder. "Kane, listen, I'm sorry," Domino muttered, a hint of sadness finally showing in his once eccentric, hyperactive voice. "All I wanted to do was leave the world I was forced to be trapped in. And to leave with my best friend. You. The only one I care about. More so than my parents or any other Keybearer." I looked to Domino, who had a tear in his eye. "I'll help you find Tara." He walked over to Kale, lifted him up, and put him sitting on his shoulder. "Abigail, can you locate this _evil witch_ for us?"

"Yes," Abigail replied, putting her arms up in the air. Her eyes seemed to glow a reddish color. "I've found her." She twirled her hands in the air, and I suddenly felt reality slipping away from me. My eyes closed, and when I opened them, four walls and an old door surrounded me. "Here we are."

We were in an old wooden shed of some sort, with no windows. Only a door was there, and it seemed locked by the looks of it. Domino, Kale, Abigail, and I stood in the middle of the room. Towards the back corner was Tara, her eyes closed.

"Watch out," Abigail said, sensing that I was about to walk forward towards Tara. "That's not the Tara you are familiar with."

Tara's eyes opened. Her pupils were not there, and the color of her eyes seemed to sparkle white, shining us in the eyes, nearly blinding us. Her hair was styled more upward, no hair falling over her shoulders like earlier. "Hello," she said in a voice that seemed to radiate energy throughout the entire room.

"Hello, Juiz," Abigail said as if she knew the person who seemed to have possessed Tara. "It's been a while sense we've seen each other. Got a new vessel already? It's a little too soon for that, isn't it?"

Abigail, or rather, Juiz, just stared Domino, Kale, and I as if trying to place our names in her mind. A white light seemed to radiate around her whole body, filling my body with warmth. This didn't feel like an evil feeling, or anything demonic for that matter.

"Stay away from Abigail," Juiz said, and suddenly, Kale lurched forward and flew across the room, landing on his feet safely to the side of Juiz. "Abigail is the evil darkness in this world that I plan to stop."

"I knew having Tara would lead you to the perfect host, Juiz," Abigail said between laughs. "That's why I sent her to you. As soon as you possessed her, I knew you were back in town. Twenty years since your last vessel? Or maybe ten?"

"Okay, so…who's the bad guy here?" Domino asked, scratching the back of his head. "I'm a tad lost. Can someone fill me in—" Domino was slammed in the back by fire, sending him across the room and into the wall, barely slamming into Kale and Juiz. "Whoa, okay, it's Abby."

"Abigail," Juiz ignored the Domino that was lying next to her. "You are a darkness that needs to be destroyed! Only light shall remain! Every darkness purged!" Holding a palm out, a blast of…_light_…shot towards Abigail, who simply reflected it with a line of fire that exited her own palm.

"Just…what are you?" Domino asked, staring at Juiz. "Why did you possess…_my friend_!"

"I need a vessel to destroy the great darkness," Juiz replied simply without going into any detail. "My cause is to make the light stronger and to purge the darkness that lies deep within this world. The darkness is supposed to be nonexistent, but it found its way out of its dark realm and has made its way among the light. A place it should not be."

Domino stood up and Starlight appeared in his hand. Domino had used the power of darkness before, so does that mean Juiz would soon come after him? Domino didn't seem to be thinking about that. He ran at Abigail, swinging his Starlight as a mix of black and white shot from the tip, slamming into Abigail and pushing her back. Abigail created a wall of fire in front of her, cancelling out the beams of light and darkness caused by Domino's blade.

I pointed my finger to her, and just like earlier that night, lightning had shot out of it, homing straight on Abigail. Abigail jumped out of the way, only to have her stomach pierced by an incoming Keyblade. Domino stood behind her, his Keyblade in her back and poking out of her front. Blood began to dribble from her lips. "How…?" she muttered, quite shocked.

"I got passed your defense, Abby," Domino said with a smile. "Like Juiz said, the darkness must be purged." He yanked Starlight out of her back, and Abigail burst into flames, a fiery hot air swirling around in the room, lighting all four walls on fire.

Abigail's physical body was reduced to ashes, but within the fire was the swirling form of a pair of eyes, staring straight at Domino with anger. The flaming eyes vanished, and the piercing cry of Abigail startled us. After a while, we noticed that Abigail's spirit was no longer with us.

The door to the now burning shack was kicked open, and a dark silhouette entered the room. "Hey, Domino, stop him!" I yelled, pointing to the black silhouette behind the flames of the doorway. He jumped into the fiery shack, some of his pants legs getting scorched. I saw that the man was none other than that Governor, Thomas.

He wrapped his arms around Tara's body that was inhabited by Juiz, and he threw the girl outside of the doorway, getting her away from the fire. Domino immediately rushed to Thomas, who had already left the scene. Before following after him, he grabbed hold of Kale, who was flinching at all of the fire that surrounded us. Domino, with Kale now on his shoulders, jumped out of the doorway. I followed him. We had all made it onto the safe, green grass, without getting burnt to a crisp like Abigail.

Domino and I looked up from the grass, and saw a thing that looked like the gallows we've learned about back in Utopia, the main instrument used for hanging people. Thomas stood on the wooden floor underneath the old rope that hung down from the top of it, wrapping the rope around Juiz's neck. Her eyes were closed.

Then her eyes opened. She started to struggle and screamed, "Kane, Domino, somebody help me!" That didn't sound like Juiz. Had she left her body at the last minute to avoid dying within Tara or something? She could have saved Tara, but now Tara had a rope tied around her neck. She was on top of a few wooden steps, and if she were to fall off of those steps, she would be, of course, hanged. Just like in all of our Utopian history text books.

Thomas was on the top step, right behind Tara, who had her hands tied behind her back and her feet tied together. Thomas had a menacing hand touching her back as if threatening to push her. "This is a lesson to all you witches!" Thomas looked at me and Domino. Kale started to whimper at the sight of Tara being hurt like that. "Don't mess with Thomas! I am ridding Salem of you dreadful Devil's spawns once and for all!"

"Juiz, please save her!" I yelled out, and Domino stared at me sadly as I called for someone who probably wouldn't show up again.

But suddenly, Tara's eyes began to glow white, and a bright aura surrounded her, blinding Thomas. "What the hell!?" he shouted. When the light died down, the rope had vanished, and Tara, now possessed by Juiz, had jumped off of the gallows and onto the ground. But her victory was short-lived. A gun was pressed against the back of Tara's head. "You're being damned back to Hell!"

Domino ran towards the two with his Keyblade outstretched, leaving Kale with me as he rushed forward. Tara's eyes then became their natural color. Thomas began pulling the trigger. The minute he pulled the trigger, he was slammed to the side by Domino, the gun flying out of his hand and the bullet shooting at Domino. The bullet entered Domino's foot, and in that confusion he…sliced Starlight into who he thought was Thomas. But when I saw who he stabbed, a tear ran down my cheek.

Tara was impaled by Starlight, the tip poking out of her back. "What…?" Domino muttered to himself, holding onto his Starlight Keyblade, the tip now stained in Tara's blood. "Tara!" Kale and I screamed out, and Domino couldn't take his eyes off of the Tara he had just impaled.

"Dom…ino…" Tara muttered, blood leaking from her bottom lip and down her chin, dripping onto the grass below. "You didn't…mean to…did you?" Domino's face soon became red, and tears started to flood from his eyes, but he remained calm and chose not to break down right then and there. He shook his head at Tara's question. "Good…"

Tara fell to the ground and onto her back, the Starlight getting pushed even deeper into her. "_TARA_!" Domino screamed, immediately taking out Starlight from her stomach and throwing it to the side, it vanishing once it got within ten feet away from him.

"Ty…" Tara muttered, her eyes slowly closing. Even in her condition, she still wanted to see her brother again.

"Tara, hold on!" Domino screamed out, putting his hands over the fallen and dying girl. "Cura!" Nothing happened. "CURA!" Still, the green light did not wash over Tara like it would if he normally healed someone. "Damn…CURA! _CURA!" _Domino punched the ground. He them slammed his hands onto Tara's shoulders and screamed with all of his might, "**_CURAGA!_**" A small green spark exited his hands, but still, Tara did not stir. "Oh no…" He looked to me with sad eyes. "Kane, I'm sorry…I didn't mean to…"

I couldn't believe what had happened. Kale was now sobbing into my shoulder after I had fallen onto my knees. Tears streamed down my face, onto the grass.

"She's dead!" Thomas shouted from somewhere behind Domino. He was laying in the grass with a huge smirk on his face. "Yes, the damn witch is dead!" He stood up and looked to Domino. Domino snapped his head towards Thomas and leaped forward from the dead Tara.

Without flinching, he jammed Starlight into Thomas's neck, then quickly slid it out, Thomas's head falling off of his shoulders, completely cut off. Thomas's body fell down beside his disembodied head. Kale flinched at the sight of all the blood in the field. I looked behind us to the burning shack…which wasn't even on fire anymore. In fact, it wasn't even there anymore. All that was there was a pile of ashes.

Kale had stopped crying and said, "Tara…big sister…at least…she's with Ty now, right?"

"Right," Domino said, stepping towards us. He grabbed Kale's hand and squeezed it, trying to comfort the poor boy. Domino had accidentally killed one of the people I cared about the most…Tara. Domino still looked shaken up, and grabbed my hand as well. "Dear friends…my dear Kale, and my sweet, sweet Kane…we need to find a new world. One that doesn't have crazy laws. Then we won't have a friend…die…like one did today. Right?"

I nodded my head, and wiped my tears. But it _wasn't_ going to be _alright_. Our friend was dead because of a simple mistake that Domino had made. I wasn't mad at Domino, but I was still angry at him from earlier. At least these tears over Tara's death had shown a heart in him after all. He actually cared for her.

And then I felt my feet leaving the ground. Domino had blasted himself upward, holding onto Kale and I's hands, and the three of us flew to the sky without the need of Domino's Keyblade Glider. Wherever we were to go to next, we had to hope that none of us would get hurt there.

"Now, Tara, sleep in peace," Domino said, his eyes still tearing up. In his left hand appeared Starlight, and a light shot from it as he pointed it downward. It hit Tara's body, and she slowly sunk into the ground like she was a ghost. And then we felt warmth, and we had our bodies encased in a bright light. We were soon to be back on the Lanes Between.

Tara Skye…rest in peace…

**...**

**Sorry I had to kill Tara Skye off. But the way my story plays out, I really can't have her around towards the end. Well, now it's only Kane Carter, Domino, and Kale Kamikaze left. If you haven't realized by now, this chapter is sort of based on the Salem Witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts a long while back, though the witches ****_weren't_**** real, but in here they were. So...hope you liked the world, as well as the future ones I have plans for. Remember, I will NOT only be focusing on Disney. I'll also have ACTUAL places as well as places I've MADE up.**


	6. Castle of Glass

**Kingdom Hearts does not belong to me, though that should be obvious. All OCs in this chapter belong to me.**

**…**

**Castle of Glass**

**_"_****_Hi, my name's Tara! What's your name?" "Kane, you're the one I care about the most." "Aww, why does Domino get to wield the Keyblade!? Why not me?" "I'd really like to have superpowers; something to make me stand out from all the rest." "I wanna be able to fly, soar through all these worlds when I get older!" "I hear that each of these bright white stars are the many other worlds! Which one…did Domino come from?" "I'm sick of just being ordinary! I wanna be special like Domino!" "To be honest, I was always jealous of Domino and his powers." "Hey, Kane, welcome back!" "I'm glad…the two of you are alright."_**

Standing on the crystalized road that was properly titled the Lanes Between; I couldn't help but cry to myself silently for the loss of Tara. She wanted to be a special person like Domino. She wanted to have super-human abilities. And she had always wanted to see the other worlds. But never in a million years had she imagined she'd _actually_ do it. And her price for wanting something more of her life was death in _another_ world. Falling onto my knees, I sobbed quietly into my lap.

Kale approached me and tried to cheer me up, saying comforting things like how she would now be in heaven with Ty and Ibiki right now as a family. Even in this dire situation of having one of my closest friends…more like an actual sister…Kale still was able to make me smile. That kid's a lifesaver.

I chuckled at all of his kind words and replied back, "Yeah…I guess you're right. Tara must be happy where she is." But was she really happy? Just having me agree with Kale wasn't enough, so to please Kale I looked to Domino and said, "What do you think, Domino?"

"I'm sorry," Domino mustered out. His face was still red and his eyes looked bloodshot. He was really upset about accidentally killing Tara. I didn't hold that against him. But was it really Tara we was crying over? His emotional displays over me have grown so severe, he wanted to ditch Tara at one point so him and I could be one step closer of traveling the worlds _by ourselves_. So it was possible he was only crying because he made me upset. But I don't think he'd be that upset about that…would he?

"We should have gotten to the nearest world to Utopia, like you mentioned, Kane," Domino said, lying on the crystalized ground with his arms and legs spread apart like he had no other purpose in life. "Then Tara wouldn't have died like she did."

"Okay, Domino, that's where I draw the line," I replied, bending down, grabbing his hand, and forcing him to stand up. "I don't hold anything…against you." I wiped a tear from my eye. "So stop beating yourself up about this, and let's go…see another world!"

Domino's face lit up as he cocked his head towards me. "Thank you, my dear Kane!" He had his Keyblade Glider appear as normal, and he, Kale, and I stood on the Glider with eagerness, ready to head out to the next world. Believe it or not, we now all had the idea that Tara is happy where she is now, with Ty and Ibiki. So we were no longer sad. The Keyblade Glider shot forward through space, the cold wind smacking us in the faces as we sprung forward towards the unknown.

One star seemed brighter than all the rest. We could even tell from a distance that the light in this world was strong. The Glider flew into the star, and once through, we saw ourselves flying our Glider through an orange sky, the setting sun casting yellow, orange, pink, and purple streaks across the sky in a spectrum that was very appealing to the eye.

Water was underneath us. The Glider flew downward to just a few inches off of the surface of the water. I held onto Kale's shirt as he bent down a little to skim his hand on the water. I felt the water myself. I couldn't tell if it was cool or warm. It just felt _right_. Who wouldn't want to spend all day swimming and chilling out in this ocean?

And then Domino screamed over the sound of his Glider, "Land ahoy!" His cocky attitude was a refresher to how I had witnessed him, mere moments ago, bawling his eyes out over the death of Tara. I squinted my eyes and saw what Domino had meant. In the distance was a grassy area. At least, it looked like grass, except it wasn't green. It was more of an orange and blue mixture; an odd combination.

"Whoa," I heard Kale and Domino say in unison. I saw what they were gawking at. Appearing over the horizon was the tip of a clear building. Yes, _clear_. The top was pointy, sharper than any blade. As we neared the land and the massive structure before us, I saw that it was more of a castle. A huge, _clear_ castle.

"What's that!?" Kale asked, a smile forming on his small face. Domino and I didn't bother answering the kid. We just took in the sight of this castle in all of its _clear_ glory.

"Okay, Domino, do _not _crash into that," I muttered under my breath as I stared the castle down, but he seemed to have heard it after all.

"Really, Kane, you think I'd make the same mistake for the hundredth time?" Domino asked. Kale and I laughed at his stupidity as we raced towards the castle. And then we began to ride right over the land. Without warning, Domino dismissed the Glider and Kale and I fell onto the ground, staring up at Domino as he was the only one who landed safely. We were close to eleven feet away from the giant, clear structure before us. "Well, it looks like this castle is made of glass."

Standing in front of the doorway was a girl, not much younger than Kale. She had long black hair that was slicked back; going just barely passed the middle of her back. She wore a robe that was black on the outside and purple on the inside. Her skin was so pale that if you were far enough away, you'd think her face had a greenish tint to it. Her eyes shined yellow. She almost looked frightened at the sight of the newcomers: us.

"Hello, little girl, and what's your name?" Domino asked slowly, taking small steps towards the girl and putting on that same amazing smile he always had when dealing with children. At each sudden movement made by Domino, the girl took another step back until her back was against the glass door. "I'm not here to hurt you—"

The girl made a sudden shriek, opening up the glass door and storming her way inside, closing the door hard, but not hard enough to break it open. Domino and I peered inside. You could clearly see straight through the door and walls. Beyond the door was a long corridor where at the end appeared a throne of sorts. Lining the walls on the inside of the castle were hundreds of different doors, all leading to different places.

And we saw the girl rushing down the corridor, heading straight for the throne at the end of the corridor. Even though she was far away in the castle, I could tell she was talking to someone on the throne. And immediately after the thought crossed my mind, the door slowly opened on its own, and a calm voice said, "Please, enter." The voice came out as more of an echo than anything, and I could tell that whoever was on the throne had said that.

Kale started walking ahead of Domino and I, but the two of us walked into the castle as well. Once we had gotten within five feet away from the door, it closed behind us like magic. Along the glass walls to the left and right of us were many paintings, each painting above a door. In each painting was clearly someone who looked like royalty, each one of a different person.

The voice of the man in the throne echoed off of the walls, saying, "Remove your shoes so the glass is not harmed."

Kale and I complied, slipping out of our shoes and letting our socked feet touch the cold floor. Domino seemed to be fine with the cold glass floor, despite being barefoot.

And then we approached the throne. The girl from before stood to the left of the throne. Sitting in the throne was someone in his twenties or early thirties. He had long black hair that was tied into a ponytail that hung in front of his face. Behind his head, the rest of his long black hair fell down to his waist. His eyes were a stormy gray color. A scar was above his left eye. He himself wore a white robe that seemed to glow in the light of the sunset outside reflecting off of the glass castle.

"Who are you?" I decided to ask, trying not to be rude about it.

"First, tell me a little about yourself," the man replied back. "You three are from Utopia, right?" Kale jumped a that, and I just raised a curious eyebrow at that statement. "I was foretold of the arrival of two special entities from Utopia. You two must be them, then." He looked straight at Domino and I, and Kale pouted when he realized the man wasn't talking about him. "Those golden eyes, so much like your mother's." He stared into my eyes as he said that.

What else did I really have to say, other than "You knew my mom?"

"Of course, Kane Carter," the man replied. "I am Enix Square, a very good friend of your mother's. I heard that she passed away three years ago." I frowned and looked to the ground, but then immediately looked up.

"Your name is _Enix_?" I asked. "That's the name of the person who…was said to have invented the idea for the Keyblade! Is that…true? Is that who you really are?"

"Yes," Enix replied. "Here is where I've stayed at since the Key's invention. There are so many unanswered questions about the Keyblade, and people were always trying to find out the answers that they have no business knowing. So I hid out in another world. This world. It really does not have a name for itself. I was its only inhabitant." He looked down to the girl by his side. "I take care of anyone here who has a special, legendary bloodline. They always somehow find their way to me. The girl before you is Maleficent. I found her two years ago, abandoned by her family because she had certain powers that normal people shouldn't have."

"Hey," the girl said shyly as she looked to the ground. She wasn't much of a talker. She began to bite her nails—rather long nails, the color red painted on there—and hid behind Enix's throne. Enix turned his head to look Maleficent behind his throne, and she stepped out from behind it, looking embarrassed as her pale, greenish face became red.

"Master! Master!" a voice yelled from somewhere behind us, echoing off of the walls. Running from one of the many doors was a boy that looked to be ten or eleven years old. He had small, coal black eyes that were small enough to be pupils, the whites of his eyes larger than they should be, with black hair that fell onto his shoulders. He wore blue robes with a dark red interior. His face looked a tad pale and skinny, and his face and body looked skinny as though he hadn't eaten in months.

"Yen Sid, what is the matter?" Enix asked, standing up as the boy rushed past us, ignoring Domino, Kale, and I as he grabbed onto Enix's robes. The boy named Yen Sid panted in his place, looking utterly terrified. "Speak, boy!"

"There're intruders in the castle," he said quietly. Enix's eyes widened. "A few people dressed in white…I don't know, they couldn't see me." As if noticing us for the first time, he looked straight at Kale and said, "Hey there." Kale nodded, not saying a word. Yen Sid looked back to Enix. "Master, we can't stay here!"

"Yen Sid, calm down," Enix muttered, putting a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Take Maleficent and the young Kamikaze to the panic room." Yen Sid nodded, grabbing the scared girl's hand as well as reaching for Kale's. Kale grabbed onto Yen Sid's hand, and the three ran off to one of the many doors. I didn't even decide to ask him how he even knew Kale's last name. "I understand you are a Keyblade wielder, Domino. And you, Kane Carter, have abilities in magic."

Domino nodded, but I remained a little uncertain. "Abilities in magic?" I asked. As far as I knew, I only had Thunder magic, and had only used those powers once or twice in the previous world we had gone to. Before Enix could reply to me, one of the doors opened, and several people began rushing through the door, all dressed in white suits with white ties and white fedoras.

They circled around us and Enix's throne quickly, about seven or eight of them. Each of them varied in looks, shapes, and heights, but all wore the exact same white outfit. Domino and I stepped back, Enix standing in front of us. A shining light appeared directly in front of Enix. When the light vanished, like a portal, a man stood in its place.

He had twinkling blue eyes that shimmered in the light of his dissipating portal and the white clothing of all the men around us. His hair was spikey in all directions, with long bangs falling over his forehead and in front of his left eye. His hair in the back reached the back of his neck and fell a little over his shoulder. He wore a white suit with a black tie, black shoes, and a black fedora with a white ribbon around it.

"Hello, hello," the man face-to-face with Enix said. He looked to be around my age; maybe younger. "Master Enix Square, the Keyblade Master of the century, my my, the scrolls told of you. You're the one who created that accursed Keyblade."

"Accursed? It's supposed to unlock the gateway to happiness and power!" Enix defended almost immediately. "And who are you?"

"Asher," the boy said, flipping his hair as it flowed dramatically behind him in a wind seeming to be made of light. "Phoenix Asher, Keyblade Hunter."

"A Keyblade Hunter?" Domino asked, genuinely confused. "Okay, _Phoenix_, what exactly does a Keyblade Hunter do?"

"I should think it's obvious," Phoenix replied, his eyes not wavering from their endless stare into Domino's. "Around three years ago we were gathered under one master for one purpose…eliminate the Keyblade entirely if someone were to abuse its mystical power and bring about ruin."

"And you say that there's someone abusing its power?" Domino asked.

"You, Domino, are my target," Phoenix said, backing a tad away from Domino, all of his followers backing up slightly as well. "I was told you tried to bring ruin upon Utopia. That is the reason you're under arrest. Along with Enix here." He gestured his hand to Enix. "He created the accursed thing."

"To unlock the mysteries of the world," Enix replied. "It was my design, so do not harm Domino. It is me you want." In his hand appeared a Keyblade that looked to be made out of pure light. The blade and teeth of the sword were sharper than anything I'd seen. "I fight for the light! And the light does not judge people based on what others do, whether it be dark magic or not! So yield before my might!" Enix leapt into the air at Phoenix, soaring over Domino's head in the process, while swinging his Keyblade of Light at Phoenix.

Phoenix jumped backwards, the Keyblade of Light missing him completely, and he landed softly on the ground. Enix remained three feet away from him. "I will make this a fair duel, Master Enix," Phoenix said softly. "Let's take this outside. I'd hate it if this precious castle shatters because of our fight. I wouldn't be able to handle it if those three other kids that were here were to die."

"How considerate of you," Enix said, walking towards the exit of the castle, faster than I thought he'd be able to walk. Phoenix simply vanished and reappeared in a flash of light outside. At the door I slipped back into my shoes and stepped onto the oddly colored grass outside.

Domino and I watched as Enix Square and Phoenix Asher got within ten feet away from each other, staring each other down. "How will you fight!?" Domino asked at Phoenix. "You don't even have a Keyblade!"

"That's where you're wrong," Phoenix said, outstretching his hand. "I may not have wanted it, but I've gotten my own Keyblade!" In his hand appeared a Keyblade that looked like a cross between a sword and a gun. He pointed it menacingly at Enix. "Long range attacks are my specialty, Master Enix!"

Phoenix swung his Keyblade, and a white bullet made of pure light fired from it, aiming straight for Enix. Enix jumped and flipped in midair, dodging the bullet, and from his hands fired two rays of lights that aimed for Phoenix. Phoenix reflected the light off of his Keyblade, shooting it back to Enix who sidestepped to avoid it.

"So we both fight for the light," Enix muttered. "Then why are you trying to harm Domino and I?"

"Thou shalt not let ruin and destruction take over," Phoenix said quietly, looking to the sky. "Thou shalt not falter in the presence of death. Thou shalt not take pity upon those who abuse power. Thou shalt not allow darkness to reign supreme." He looked back at Enix. "You are aware that Domino has begun creating the dark forces, aren't you!?" Enix jumped at that comment. What had that meant? "Domino has darkness within his veins…he doesn't fight for the light. His false demeanor is only a façade, hiding what he truly desires. Need I go on, Domino?"

Domino jumped at Phoenix, blasting through the air with darkness trailing behind him, his Starlight Keyblade outstretched and darkness sparking around its tip. He thrust his Keyblade into the stomach of Phoenix, only to hit…air. Phoenix had jumped above the swipe. He drove his Keyblade into Domino's stomach. The purple haired boy, my best friend, fell down to the ground, a pool of blood forming underneath him.

"Curaga!" came Domino's voice. Green light washed over him, and he rose from the air, staying a few feet above the ground. He pointed Starlight at Phoenix. "Okay, Asher, it's time for you to say good night!"

"Hold that thought," Phoenix said quickly, taking a cellphone from his suit pocket. He flipped it open and said into it, "Asher speaking." He paused for a moment. "Yes, I see." Pause. "I'll be there in a second. Thank you, Master." He closed his phone and put it back in his pocket. "I'm sorry to cut our meeting short, but I'm afraid my master needs me to tend to something. I pray our paths may cross again someday, Domino."

"Wait a minute!" Domino screamed. "Just…who is your master?"

"That's a subject for another day, I'm afraid," Phoenix replied. He took his fedora into his hand and threw it like a Frisbee towards Domino, who caught it in confusion. "A memento of our first battle. Take it, the hat's yours. Now I really need to be going. Just remember, the Hunters will be watching you guys."

And in a flash of light, Phoenix vanished. Domino, still confused, put on the black fedora with the white ribbon on it, and positioned it on his head to his liking. "Nice," Domino said, admiring his new headwear. He then looked to me. "So who was that?"

"I don't know," I said, finally saying something after god knows how long. I looked back into the glass castle and saw that the other men who were with Phoenix Asher were vanishing into light one by one. "But there's something going on here. He said something about you gathering the dark forces?"

"The guy was crazy," Domino said, but I wasn't about to believe him for a second. There was something weird going on with Domino, and I had to find out. "The playing field has just gotten rougher than anticipated. Master Enix, do you mind taking care of Kale in our absence?"

"What?" I asked. "We can't just leave him—"

"He'll be fine here," Enix interjected. "A child so young should not be wandering the worlds. We can't make this difficult on the poor boy. You two need to leave before he tries to stop you."

"Okay," I decided to say, not wanting to disagree. We had lost Tara; I didn't want to lose Kale as well. He would be protected under Enix's wing. "Sounds good—gyaah!" I fell onto my knees, clutching my stomach. I felt a surge of energy and pain coursing through my veins. "Domino!?"

I saw the lips of Domino moving as if to speak, but no sound came out. The sounds from the birds chirping and the waves lapping against the grassy shore had all but vanished as well. Through my eyes, it looked as if all color had drained from the world, leaving a mix of black and white. And then all around me, the black and white melted, dripping off into oblivion. I was surrounded by darkness.

I closed my eyes, hoping this experience would be over. When I opened them, I saw a group of at least sixteen people, all standing in a circle. In each of their hands was a Keyblade. The other sixteen Keybearers?

The sixteen vanished into darkness, and in their place stood Domino, looking towards me with his Keyblade outstretched. "Things shouldn't have ended this way. They shouldn't have."

The entire world faded to black once more, and when the color returned, I saw the inside of Domino's house. The roof began to cave in, the ceiling falling on top of Domino's mother. Domino's father stood awestruck, in front of the doorway to outside.

"Marian!" he yelled out. Then he fell to the ground, screaming out. There was a Keyblade shoved into his back. I looked at who had stabbed him, and it was none other than Domino. With an evil smirk, he yanked the Keyblade out and walked off. A few seconds after he had walked off, that's when I had entered the house, looking for Domino. Once again, all faded to black.

Flashes of the people I cared about flashed through my head. Ibiki, Ty, Tara, Kale, and lastly Domino. They each faded away to darkness, and I opened my eyes.

I was on my back on the grass, a worried Domino and Enix looking down at me. Domino saw my eyes open and pulled me to my feet, and I stood up shakily.

Was that a dream? Wait…Domino had killed his father. That must've been the case. Then was it really a dream? It was more like a vision.

"You're hair," Enix noted.

I arched an eyebrow and took out a small, circular mirror from my pocket. A mirror? When had that gotten there…oh, right, it was Tara's. I had forgotten to give it back to her. I looked into the mirror and saw what Enix was worried about. Every strand of hair on my head was now silver. It was no longer the black color it used to be. Was it really that lightning strike from back on Utopia that had done this to me?

"Silver," Domino said as if he had never seen or heard of the color before now. He reached his hand out and stroked the stop of my hair, making things awkward and causing me to back up a few steps. "Unbelievable. Your hair is amazingly silver, it's…unreal."

"You two need to leave," Enix said, turning his back on us. "The silver hair and golden eyes are traits that belonged to your late mother. You're father…he loved that hair." He looked back to me with a tear in his eyes. "You look so much like your mother and like…like…you're father, too." He wiped the tear from his eye. "But you two have to go now." He took a small button off of his robe and handed it to me, which I eagerly grabbed. "This allows us to communicate. If I need something of you, I can speak into a button similar to this one and you'll hear me through that one."

"Okay," Domino said, taking the button from me and putting it on his shirt, it sticking to it magically. He had called upon his Starlight and summoned his Keyblade Glider. I stepped onto it behind him. "Thanks a lot for taking care of Kale, Master Enix."

And before I could even say a goodbye, Domino had the Glider dart forward. He flew over the water and then shot towards the sky, white light soon surrounding the two of us. In seconds we had left the world.

_Where to go now? _I wondered to myself as we flew through the Lanes Between.


	7. The Calm Before the Storm

**Kingdom Hearts does not belong to me, though that should be obvious. **

**.**

**The Calm Before the Storm**

Blue sky. An endless expanse of the brightest blue surrounded us. Domino and I stood on the Glider, soaring through the sky of this vast, open world. The ground below was covered in grass. Vibrant green grass that sparkled from the dew. This was such a pretty world, but it was desolate. For fifteen straight miles, there was no sign of life anywhere. Domino could've flown us around all day, but I was starting to get a little irritated.

"Can we just stop now?" I asked, but he didn't even reply. "I need to get me something to eat." I then gasped, my eyes widening with horror. "Domino…we've been away from Utopia for almost a full two days and we haven't eaten…" I clutched my stomach and as if on cue, a loud growl was heard from within. "…anything."

"The greatest food comes from nature, Kane," Domino said, slowing the Glider down as we slowly lowered to the ground. "Finding it is the tricky part though."

As the Glider dematerialized from underneath us, our feet landing softly on the ground, Domino jumped into the air and clicked his heels together, falling back to the ground with a smile on his face. "This world has no inhabitants," he said, though I already _knew_ that. "This is the perfect place to train, hang out, and have fun! We haven't had real fun since we left Utopia, so let's change that!"

I smirked at Domino's optimism. His happiness lit up any dark room he stepped in, for sure. Starlight appearing in his hand, he pointed it towards the sky. The sky was bright and beautiful, but a sun was absent in the sky. A ray of light shone down from the heavens and bounced off of the Keyblade, the new ray of light shining towards the ground.

"Kane, my dear friend, step back!" Domino said to me, and I backed up behind him, unsure of what he was going to do. "I sense that there's a lake underneath this ground." How'd he sense _that_? Did the ray of light _speak_ to him or something? "The Keyblade's a lot more useful than just hacking and slashing, you know!"

And with that word, he slammed the blade of the Keyblade into the ground. The ground parted where the blade was, both ends of the ground stretching to several meters away from each other. Soon enough, before us was a huge opening in the ground. Inside was glistening, crystal blue water that seemed to be inviting us in.

"Wow," I mumbled, taking my satchel off and dropping it to the ground. I smelled the air. "It smells…fresh. How'd you know this lake was here?"

"There had to be something here other than grass," Domino said, stretching his arms out. "I use my _powers_ to heighten my sense of smell. And I smelled this amazing freshwater _pond_." I smiled at Domino as he walked to the pond, dipping a foot in it to feel it. "Ah, relaxing. Cool, not too cold though. The perfect temperature."

"So how can a world be so empty?" I asked. "I read that the light in people's hearts is what fuels the heart of a world. If there's no life here, how can a world stay in existence?" I kneeled down next to the pond, sticking a hand in it to feel while waiting for Domino to respond.

"One of the many mysteries of the universe," Domino replied simply. He walked to behind me as I continued to feel the calming water. And then I felt his wet foot pressed against the back of my head. Before I could ask what he was doing, he had pushed me with his foot until I fell into the water, face-first.

I hadn't seen this coming. I looked around to see where I was. My entire body was disoriented. My head was pointing to the bottom of the pond, my feet sticking upward. I positioned myself normally and began to frantically thrash my arms around, swimming quickly to the surface.

My head broke the surface of the pond, and I stared up angrily at Domino who had an evil smirk and a glint in his eye. "Sorry," he said sarcastically, and I noticed his shirt was off and next to my satchel, along with the fedora. "Cannon ball!" he shouted, jumping right over my head and feet first into the water behind me. I shook my head like a dog, trying to get the water out of my hair as I laughed at Domino.

Domino's head bobbed out of the water and he smiled to me. "Isn't the water great?"

"What the hell was that for, jerk!?" I yelled out, punching his bare shoulder as he pretended to wince in pain.

"Remember when we were kids?" Domino asked me, and I shrugged. "When I'd want to go swimming in the Lake of Destiny, you'd always be too chicken to get in. I had to practically drag you in. Well, I solved that problem by pushing you in."

"Gee, thanks," I muttered in annoyance, peeling off my wet shirt and throwing it out of the pond and next to his shirt and my satchel. I did the same with my now soaked shoes and socks.

Wrapping my arms around his neck, I pushed him and shoved his head underwater. He popped his head out from under the water and returned the favor by dunking my head in the water. We continued this for a good minute or two, until we were both too exhausted to do anything more. We simply floated on our backs, the back of our heads against one another as we relaxed in peace.

"If only Tara, Kale, and Ty could be here with us, experiencing this awesome, cool water," Domino muttered quietly, but enough for me to hear him. At that statement, I quit floating on my back and looked down at Domino. He opened an eye and looked at me. "Yes?"

"Okay, before, you only wanted to be with me," I said, staring coldly into his eyes. "But now, all of a sudden, you want everybody else here with us?" Domino stood up in the water, inching closer to me.

"Because I realized what you wanted," Domino said, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Just remember, I don't ever want to lose you. So I'd do anything for you, Kane." Those words never left my mind after that. He wrapped his arms around me and embraced me in a hug, and I stood there awkwardly, wondering what had gotten into him. Letting go of me _finally_, he swam to the edge of the pond as if to get out.

Pulling himself out of the water, he lay down on the grass next to our things in silence. I swam to the edge and pulled myself out as well, soaking wet. Looking up at me from where he lay, Domino slowly stood up, making Starlight appear in his hand.

"Watch this," Domino muttered, raising the Keyblade in the air. "Aerora!" At first, nothing happened. But almost instantaneously, a gray orb of wind circled around the tip, and a strong gust of wind seemed to rush past me suddenly, knocking me on my back. Blinking a few times, I stood up, feeling my hair. It was dry. Come to think of it, my clothing was completely dry. Starlight vanished. "Wind magic. If I want it to, it can be completely harmless. Just a rush of wind. But I can also make it devastating. Like razorblades. To kill an opponent."

"And all I could do was make sparks from my fingertips," I muttered, staring at the palm of my hand. "How was I able to do that though?"

"What?" Domino asked me, walking towards me. "Use Thunder magic? That, I can't tell you. Normally the bond between a Keyblade and its wielder's heart is enough to form a magical bond. But you, that's the true enigma here…you were never passed the Key…you shouldn't have magic powers. You're a complete mortal." He raised a fist into the air. "I could train you, though!"

"Okay…so, how do I use Thunder magic again?" I asked him. "I haven't used any since we were in Salem. Is it all in the wrist, or…?" Unsure of what to do, I flicked my wrist back and forth, expecting lightning to shoot from my palm. "This is utterly ridiculous."

"What's ridiculous is that for once I don't actually _know_ something," Domino muttered, clenching his fist. "Your Thunder abilities appeared once, if only for a minute, but you don't have the blood of a Keybearer. So how…" His eyebrows raised so much they looked like they were ready to jump off of his forehead. "That black strike of lightning? Could that be the cause?"

"That black strike of lightning…" I repeated, remembering when I had been struck before we had left Utopia. "Was it made out of…_darkness_?" Then I had remembered something. Mr. Brunner had used the powers of darkness before. Domino had as well. "How did _you_ use the darkness, Domino? I thought you said that the darkness wasn't supposed to exist."

"Darkness _doesn't _exist, Kane," Domino said, holding his hand out to the sky. "Darkness is just light…or rather, the absence of light. Some Keyblade wielders…or rather, all of them can use the power of Light. Only a few exceptional ones can create darkness. Such as I." What he was saying didn't make much sense. "Some people can control the Light _so_ well, that they can erase the existence of Light. If you erase the Light that you're trying to utilize, only what we call _Darkness_ remains. Watch…"

He held his hand out towards Kane, and an orb of light appeared within it. The light warmed up Kane's insides to the point that he began to smile without realizing it. Domino explained further, "Now watch, as I slowly erase the Light." The ball of light began fading, darkening, until Kane's blood began to chill. The temperature around him _must_ have lowered. The ball of light was now a ball of…darkness. It looked like it was swirling around like a hurricane, ready to spiral out of control. "Darkness is only present in the absence of Light. I slowly took away the essence of light until nothing but the Darkness within remained. Understand now?"

"I guess," I replied.

"Now that was in slow-motion," Domino said, making the ball of Darkness vanish. "Here's how it looks if you're quick with it." With one thrust of his hand, he sent a beam of darkness blasting out of his palm to beyond the blue sky. "Taking away light until its nothing but Darkness in only under a second."

"But Darkness…" I said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "We used to call it Black Magic. Isn't that...evil? Unsafe? Look at how corrupted it made Mr. Brunner, and he was one of my favorite teachers."

It's not evil unless you don't know how to use it properly," Domino replied, chuckling.

"Hey…" I muttered, clutching my stomach. Before I jumped into the lake, my stomach was completely empty. I could've eaten a few hundred pounds of Tara's famous chicken. But now…the feeling was gone. I felt full again. It was almost unnatural. "I'm not hungry anymore?"

Domino, grunting in confusion, bent down and ran a finger along the water. He brought his finger towards his nose and sniffed it, looking intrigued at the scent of the fresh water coating his finger. "Weird…this lake is made of the same components that make up the Lake of Destiny. And if my conclusion's correct…it's even stronger than the Lake of Destiny. Kane, this lake actually heals people. Not only from wounds, but from hunger and thirst, even exhaustion. That explains it."

How the _hell_ did he figure out that so quickly? Domino caught my confused stare and said, "By creating Darkness and utilizing it, one can heighten their sense of smell. I know what the Lake of Destiny smells like, and I know that the Cure spell has a certain…_flowery_ scent to it that nobody can detect. So this lake has a spell cast on it…but from whom?"

And only for a brief second, I saw Domino's nose twitch. Domino's eyes darted to the side as if trying to detect something that I couldn't even sense. "Speaking of…" Domino muttered. "This place was desolate only minutes ago. Someone's already crossed the border?" Almost instantly, I heard a shrieking sound, like chalk on a chalk board or a needle scraping against glass. Looking to the sky, the two of us saw a Keyblade Glider that darted through the sky even faster than Domino had gone.

Before I could see what it looked like, it vanished, and the shadowy form of a human fell from the sky, landing only inches away from Domino and I, almost landing in the lake.

He was tall, barely six feet, lean and muscular, with dark skin, purple eyes, and messy black medium length hair. He wore black leather combat boots and black combat pants, a purple and black belt with a pouch on his right hip, a dark purple sleeveless shirt with a single shoulder pad on his left shoulder, and a fingerless glove on his left hand. He looked to be around nineteen.

"Netherwood," Domino said, smirking at our uninvited guest. "Dante Netherwood…you found me. Congrats."

"Okay, Mister Leader, what do I do now?" Dante asked rather rudely. "I helped break that barrier so I can be free...is there anything more you want me to do? If not, I'm on my own from here on out."

"Exactly," Domino replied, motioning to give Dante a high-five, but Dante didn't even try to give Domino that satisfaction.

Dante smirked. "I normally don't play well with others, but I must thank you for showing us that there was a way out…even if it meant killing everybody else down below." His tone dropped to a menacing one. "You…" He reached forward and grabbed hold of Domino's collar. "You killed all those people! You told me…the sacrifice would be their light! That we would use all of their light to open the barrier! Not shatter it by taking the lives of millions! Heartless bastard!" He yanked on Domino's shirt and threw him to the side, letting go and watching the purple-haired teen fly to the side.

Domino, standing up quickly, made Starlight appear in his hand, and he swung it, only for it to be deflected by another Keyblade wielded by Dante. "Oathbreaker!" Dante screamed out, revealing the name of his weapon. It looked like a normal Keyblade with the color scheme of black and purple. It was around three feet longer than it was supposed to be.

"Hey, I got you out, didn't I?" Domino asked, backing away from Dante. "And what do you care about all those innocents? They've done nothing but put a barrier on Utopia, one that kept us confined for years!"

"That's just it; they're _innocent_!" Dante replied, swinging forth his Keyblade again. Domino barely jumped out of its range, the tip of the blade cut slightly into the skin of his bare chest, a line of blood dribbling down. "I may fight for the Darkness, but I'm not cruel. I care about human life."

"Using the Darkness means sacrifice, dedication, and hard work," Domino replied. "And I helped the two of us, plus the other fourteen, to escape. I even have my best friend here." He pointed to me. I gave him a look as if to say, _Don't get me involved_.

"Prepare to share Elijah's fate," Dante replied. Running forward, he shot a beam of darkness from his Oathbreaker. Domino simply deflected it with his own darkness. The two stood their ground, each trying to overpower the other with their darkness.

All this madness with the Darkness that Domino had himself tangled in…what _was_ he thinking? The dark was cruel, unforgiving, and unremorseful. How could anyone use something like that? And that lie that Domino had told Dante…making him believe that everyone on Utopia would be safe…how could he do that? All of the emotions from before that I had felt back in Salem came rushing back. Domino only cared about himself, and me. He didn't care about anyone else. Should I even keep him as a friend? I truly believed that he cared about me, and loved me as much as a best friend could. But lying and killing others…that wasn't right!

Exploding with rage, my whole body tingled with power, and soon, my hands were sparking with white electricity. Pointing my hands towards Domino and Dante, strikes of lightning escaped my palms. A tiny strike of lightning hit Domino, sending him flying off to the side. A large lightning bolt shot towards Dante, who flew into the lake unconscious.

Domino shakily stood up. Instead of scowling, yelling, or looking the least bit angry or upset, he smiled and started laughing. "You used Thunder again! And this time it was…_white_! Lightning made up of…light." As if just noticing Dante in the water, he looked to him and said, "I guess…is he dead?"

"I don't know," I replied, unsure. Dante Netherwood began to sink into the depths of the lake. "I guess…he is. Oh dear god, I just killed somebody." The feeling started sinking in. I _couldn't_ be a murderer. But Thunder…it wasn't supposed to be a strong as _normal_ lightning! It shouldn't have killed him!

Breaking the silence, we heard something sounding like feedback. Domino seemed to know what it was. Rushing to his shirt next to my satchel, he undid the button from his shirt. _Enix's button! _Was he contacting us already? Domino began speaking into it: "Master Enix, you there?"

"Yes, it is I," the voice of Enix said in a static voice. "So, how is your journey the past three days? Kale is just dying to hear the details, hehe."

I gasped. "Three days?" Time must flow differently in every world. That would explain it. "How did he take the news that we were gone?" I decided to ask.

"Oh, he cried for a few hours," Enix said, and I dropped my head in guilt. Leaving him behind was the best thing we could do for him, but I felt sorry that he had to stay by himself with people he didn't even know. "At least he's safe… He's made great friends with Maleficent and Yen Sid! The three are chasing each other around outside. Makes me wish I was younger…anyway, listen, I had to tell you something. No matter whom you meet…whom you see…trust no one unless you know everything about them."

"Where's this question coming from all of a sudden?" I asked. "Did something happen? And why did you say '_At least he's safe_'? Safe from what?"

"Just trust me, Kane, Domino," Enix's voice said, his voice starting to become scratchier and scratchier with every passing second. "No matter who you meet on your journey, whether you know him or not, do not trust them until you know for sure that they're good people. Trust no one. Because even the kindest people have the darkest motives. Isn't that right…Ibiki?"

The name sent shivers up my spine. Why did he just say Ibiki? Domino looked as confused as me. Domino was about to say something more, but soon a loud gunshot filled the air around us. The noise came from the communication device. After the gunshot noise vanished, it was immediately followed by another, followed by a noise that sounded like…the shattering of glass.

It sounded as if it was actually near us, but it was just coming out of the button. "Enix!?" I yelled out, shocked at what was happening. There was a gunshot…two of them. And the glass…most likely the castle…was shattering all around Enix. "Are you there!?"

When the sound died down a new, cold and familiar voice began speaking through the button. "Hello, boys. Good to know that the two of you are alive and well."

I was speechless. Domino, however, took no time processing this and yelled out, "Ibiki Kamikaze!?"

"Ding ding ding, give the Domino his prize," the person on the other end, Ibiki, said, a slight chuckle after his words. "Don't worry much. Kale, Maleficent, and Yen Sid are all okay. I know you've been having all your fun, but I need you. Come to the world where Enix once resided in. We can talk there."

"Wait a minute!" I wailed out, not wanting to stop talking to Ibiki without getting answers first. "What was all that noise!?"

"Get here now before I hunt you down, you two," Ibiki said, and he didn't speak again.

Domino, frowning, raised Starlight into the air and summoned his Keyblade Glider. The two of us jumped on, after the we got dressed and I strapped my satchel on, of course, and began heading towards the sky. "What's Ibiki doing alive?" Domino asked as if he wanted him to stay dead. What was going on here? Domino was turning out to be someone completely different. Ibiki was back. And whatever happened to Enix…well, I feared the worst. I looked down at the water, and my jaw dropped.

A hand raised itself from the watery depths, clutching the grass on the ground, attempting to pull itself up from out of the lake. "Domino!" I shouted out.

Domino looked to the lake where a second hand rose from the depths, the Oathbreaker in its hand. A blast of darkness shot from it, heading towards the sky where we were. Domino swerved hard to the left, quickly avoiding the darkness as it headed off into space. "He didn't die after all," Domino muttered, just as we crossed the border.

**.**

**I'm sorry for the long wait! I had a slight writer's block, but I'm back (I'm hoping!) This is the first chapter to feature an OC from someone other than myself! Anyway, Ibiki is ALIVE!? What shall befall our heroes? How will Kane deal with Domino's hidden, rutheless personality?**

**OCs:********_Dante Netherwood _****belongs to**Demonfox25.


	8. Monster

**Kingdom Hearts does not belong to me, though that should be obvious. All OCs in this chapter belong to me.**

**.**

**Monster**

**_ "_****_No matter who you meet on your journey, whether you know them or not, do not trust them until you know for sure that they're good people. Trust no one. Because even the kindest people have the darkest motives. Isn't that right…Ibiki?"_**

I kept replaying Enix's words over and over in my head. From the way he said it...could we not trust Ibiki? I kept thinking about this as we crossed the border to Enix's world. The light, the warmth…it was gone. As soon as we could see the world beyond the border, a cold wind sent chills up my spine. The once orange sky was a sickly purple, dark gray clouds casting over the entire world below. No sun could be seen.

The temperature had to be below thirty degrees. I looked to the water below and saw that it was solid ice. The ice seemed to reflect the purple coloration of the sky, making the ice seem gray or even black. Domino broke the silence. "What…happened?"

The place looked like an entirely different world. I could see my breath escaping my lips, and I wished that I had worn longer and thicker clothing. The Glider beneath my feet began to shake. Domino noticed this as well and stomped hard on it as if trying to tell it to knock it off. The Glider seemed to slowing down. "Domino?" I tried asking, but the roar of the wind that had appeared oh so suddenly overshadowed my voice. I looked to the Glider and saw that it was beginning to…freeze?

Almost instantly, the Keyblade Glider vanished in a flash of light. Domino and I tumbled downward towards the ice and before we could even scream for our lives, we hit the ice. Domino somehow landed on his feet. The cold didn't seem to bother his bare feet. I, however, landed on my face. The ice was so solid that it hadn't cracked when we landed.

Standing up and rubbing my nose, I noticed that Domino looked straight ahead with a blank expression. Looking in the direction he was, I saw that the large, towering Castle of Glass where Enix once resided…was gone. Domino nimbly ran across the ice, not even slipping, and found himself on the other side of the lake. I ran after him, and though I had shoes on that should have gave me traction, I still slipped and fell on my butt quite a few times. I finally made it to the end of the lake.

The grass was now gray, dying, and depressing. Littering the grass were millions and millions of tiny and large shards of glass, once belonging to the beautiful Castle. Standing among the wreckage was someone I had thought we'd never see again. Ibiki Kamikaze. His sideburns seemed thicker and more jagged looking, his long black hair was a scraggly mess of tangles and knots and looked somewhat gray-ish. Even his cute and cuddly pink eyes seemed harder, more focused, and without life.

"Ibiki, what happened over here?" I asked, trying to take a step forward. Domino held his hand out, preventing me from going ahead of him. "Domino?"

"Ibiki did this," Domino said simply, staring into Ibiki's cold, dead eyes. "I can sense it—another perk of the darkness—that he's the one who caused this mayhem. Tell me…why?"

"Is this true?" I asked, trying to step forward but once again was blocked off by Domino.

"Enix had to be destroyed," Ibiki said in a calm voice. I gasped. Did he say…_destroyed_? So Enix was dead? "As creator of the Keyblades, he caused this entire chain of events to transpire. You, Domino, obtained your Keyblade three years ago, you came to Utopia to seal us off from the outside world, and then you helped to destroy our barrier. And then you proceeded to take Kane, Tara, _and_ Kale along for the ride."

"So…Utopia wasn't destroyed?" I asked.

"Far from it," Ibiki replied, smirking slightly. "It simply…created a new way of living there. Hundreds did die, but the few hundred people that were left helped to rebuild it to its proper glory. The storm you conjured flooded the world, so now we're living atop water. You really have to see it, the way the Lake of Destiny covers the entire world."

"So does this mean…" I muttered, not sure of what to say. "Ty is alive?"

"He is."

"So Tara died for nothing, then." As I said that, Domino jumped directly in between Ibiki and I, holding out his Starlight that was still slightly covered in ice. At the same moment, Ibiki had jumped forward and swung a sword—which he made appear out of pure light—clashing it with Domino's Keyblade. "What the—"

"Kane, you're my best friend and all, but that was an incredibly stupid move," Domino snapped at me. I thought about what I had just said. I basically admitted to Ibiki that Tara had died. I talked about her death freely as if it were _nothing_. And Ibiki…where'd he get this sword from? It was a mix of white and silver, and it glittered in the light that swirled around it.

"So Tara died then," Ibiki mumbled, lowering his head to pay his respects. "And it is…all…your…fault!" He swung it once more at Domino, but Domino collided his weapon with Ibiki's. Ibiki backed away. He looked to me. "Domino might as well have killed Tara himself, he left Kale all by himself over here…and you're _still_ by his side?" He seemed to just be noticing my hair color. "Your mother's hair…how?" He made his sword disappear, and in his hand appeared a gun.

Looking at the gun…my eyes fogged, and I felt myself drifting off. Like before when I saw Domino kill his parents, I was having another vision now.

Enix sat at his throne. A shadowy figure suddenly appeared behind the throne, but Enix looked as if he didn't know it was there. "Just trust me, Kane, Domino," Enix said quietly into his own button. "No matter who you meet on your journey, whether you know them or not, do not trust them until you know for sure that they're good people." His eyes narrowed to the side, as if he just realized the shadowy figure was there. "Trust no one. Because even the kindest people have the darkest motives." The shadowy figure stepped out of the shadows behind Enix's throne and revealed his face. "Isn't that right…Ibiki?" It _was_ Ibiki. And in his hand was a gun.

Ibiki walked in front of Enix. With one swipe of his gun, a bullet fired from it, gruesomely piercing Enix's chest and filling the air with a loud gunshot. Enix fell from his throne, dark red blood staining the glass floor. With another swing of his gun, Ibiki pulled the trigger a second time, firing it straight at the high ceiling. As soon as the bullet hit the glass ceiling, the entire castle shattered.

My eyes opened as I was violently shaken awake from the vision. By the looks of it, no time had passed since I began having the vision. Ibiki _murdered_ Enix. The gun was pointed to Domino.

"Take a look at this tiny place," Ibiki said, laughing after he spoke. "An empty world…almost like a prison. Enix thought he could hide himself, but we found him." _We? _"The castle is this world's life force. Since the castle is destroyed, along with its cowardly master, this world has no more power. It'll be dead in minutes."

"Wait…" I said, darting my eyes back and forth. "Where's Kale? Or Yen Sid…and Maleficent?"

"They're safe, on the other side of the wreckage," Ibiki said, but that didn't prevent me from worrying about the three of them.

"And what do you mean the world will be…_dead_?"

"Taken by the darkness of the universe," Ibiki answered. "The castle was this world's light. It held so many memories, spirits, hearts…and now they're all gone along with the castle and poor Master Enix."

"Wait a minute, Ibiki," Domino spoke after the longest time that he has _ever_ been silent. "Did you say _we_ before? Who's _we_?"

Ibiki smiled, looking towards the sky. I looked to the sky as well. I couldn't see or understand what in the world he was looking at. "Asher, now!" Ibiki shouted suddenly.

"Asher!?" Domino and I yelled simultaneously.

I looked back to the sky, where a white comet shot from beyond the clouds. As the comet neared the ground, I saw Asher's face, his white hair flowing about in the wind. As he got ever closer, I saw that there were two disks in his hands. He threw them at me like Frisbees, and they circled around me, sending a force field of light around my body. The orb of light around me began to shrink in size, until I was unable to move around in it. I fell to the ground defeated.

Phoenix Asher elegantly landed beside my head. Domino rushed to him with Starlight outstretched, but both Asher and Ibiki deflected it with their own weapons, Asher with his Keyblade, and Ibiki with both his sword and his gun. "No way…" Domino muttered, trying to keep his ground against his two attackers. I looked to him from the ground and saw the horrified look in his eyes as he wouldn't keep his eyes off of me. "No way in hell…"

"To answer your question," Ibiki muttered, smiling from ear to ear. "_We_, as in the _Keyblade Hunters_!" Appearing around Domino, Asher, Ibiki, and I were around twenty people in white suits. The same people from the same group that was here a while ago.

"I was afraid of that," Domino muttered, dropping his head. Eyeing the ground in anger, Domino muttered, "So, Asher, I'm guessing Ibiki is your _master_?"

"He founded us only three years ago," Asher said with a smile. "A group of hunters whose one goal is to destroy the Keyblade and restore peace. There's a prophecy…that the Keyblade will bring about destruction and ruin, tearing down everything in its wake. A storm of darkness shall ravage and a river of light shall flow, heading towards one another, colliding, ultimately bringing about the end of all existence."

I tried to speak, but it felt like my throat was closing up. The orb of light had fit to the shape of my body, encasing me in a coating of light that began to burn me. It was unlike anything I've ever felt before. As I opened my mouth to speak, only strained gibberish escaped my lips.

But why…_why _would Ibiki turn on us like that? Was the Keyblade that evil? But what he said…about the darkness and light colliding and ending the world. Was he talking about the darkness that Domino was possessing?

"How do you have all of this light?" Domino asked. "It…isn't even light. It doesn't _smell_ like light. It's too bright, too harsh…too strong. It's…"

"Artificial," Ibiki replied. "A group of Utopian scientists created an artificial light to use. We figure, since the prophecy says light and dark will clash and end all existence, then that means if we have _fake_ light, there's no chance of it being the cause of the end of worlds. So. I am sorry, but the two of you will die today. Without you two, the prophecy can be avoided. Now…"

I then began coughing. I couldn't breathe. The light was choking me, strangling me. I squirmed on the ground, my entire body paralyzed. My eyes began tearing up. The pain was agonizing. I saw Domino's sad eyes focus. They looked angrier than before.

"Then I'm sorry," Domino said, barely above a whisper. "But I can't allow you to kill Kane." His eyes seemed to glow with dark energy. _"__Don't you dare think that you can fucking lay a hand on him!"_

My eyes widened as I saw Domino's rage nearly explode out of him. Darkness blasted out of Domino's body, knocking the twenty suited figures back. Some fell onto the glass and others fell onto the ice. Ibiki and Asher remained standing still, but barely. The darkness escaping Domino's body was cutting, scraping against their bodies.

And then Domino blasted forward, his hand closing on Asher's throat. He slammed the white haired boy to the ground, leaving an Asher sized dent in the ground. Ibiki approached Domino from behind, swinging his sword at him. Domino predicted this and whipped around, grabbing the sword and throwing it to the side, sending Ibiki flying with it.

When I took a look at Domino, his silver eyes nearly glowed red. His purple hair was flowing wildly behind him in a flurry of darkness as his fedora flew onto the ice of the lake. Ibiki attempted to stand up, but a ball of darkness flew from Domino's hand and slammed into Ibiki's chest, sending him flying another few yards back.

I hadn't seen this kind of rage in Domino…since I was wounded by Mr. Brunner back on Utopia. He looked like a freaking _monster_! He almost seemed to release this kind of rage…when anything was happening to me. Was I that important to him?

Domino suddenly jumped into the air, floating a few inches off of the ground. He flew at a fast pace towards one of the white suited figures, a woman, and wrapped his arms around her head, snapping her neck in under a second. I gasped when I could hear the snapping of her neck. What was he doing!?

He flew to each and every one of the nineteen remaining suited Hunters, snapping and ripping off each of their heads. Darkness trailed behind him as he flew around in a frenzy. Both Asher and Ibiki stood up.

"And this is why you must die, Domino!" Ibiki yelled out. "I've always felt like this, boy! It seems like you have corrupted Kane as well. The two of you do not deserve this or any world. I love you, Kane, as much as any father can…but keeping you alive can bring then end to all worlds. We can't allow you to help Domino achieve his goals of war!"

"War?" I tried to ask, but it sounded more like _Gwrwrrraaar_?

Domino raised his hands into the air, and with an ear-splitting screech, the ground below him split in half, revealing a pit of darkness underneath his feet. The ground slowly crumbled away, a path of destruction leading its way to Ibiki and Asher.

The heat of the light around me began to dim. The cold, harsh darkness cooled me down. I felt it from Domino. How was that possible. I was able…to move again. The light around my body dissipated, Domino's darkness being the main cause. I stood myself up.

"Let them perish with this world!" Asher yelled out. "We can't risk our own skins for their wrong-doings! Get the kids and we can leave!"

"They must be sacrificed," Ibiki said, his eyes turning on me as if to say _It must be done_. "Once we achieve equilibrium among the worlds once again, we may raise their spirits and bring them back. As said in the prophecy."

In a flash of light, Ibiki vanished. "He's right," Asher said, looking to the sky. He looked back to Domino and I. Domino's rage didn't seem to be ending. He stared coldly at Asher, waiting for a chance to kill the guy. "You two must fade away from existence along with this pitiful world. Eventually, all Keybearers shall share your fate."

Asher vanished into light. The darkness swirling around Domino dissipated into thin air. His eyes calmed, looking to me in sadness. "Kane…" I tried to speak, but my throat still felt a little sore. "We can survive."

Almost as soon as he said that, the ice shattered, each shard of ice flying down into the unknown. I looked down below and saw there was something like a black hole down there, sucking in the land and ice. Starlight became the Keyblade Glider, and Domino pulled me aboard, the two of us beginning to soar towards the sky.

But the power of the Glider wasn't enough. We began to ascend, flying towards the darkness. Looking down, I saw that the entire world below was encased in darkness. I saw…Kale. He was flailing around, flying towards the black hole. On either side of him were the tumbling figures of Yen Sid and Maleficent, each looking as terrified as I felt.

"I've got them!" Domino yelled out, holding a hand out. A black portal opened up beneath Yen Sid, the young boy falling into it and disappearing. He did the same for Maleficent, and the girl vanished as well. "They should be heading towards safer worlds. I'm not sure where!" Reaching down, he grabbed Kale by the foot and pulled him up. I hugged Kale close to me, trying to keep both me and him on the Glider as we tumbled down.

"What now!?" I yelled out, startling myself by the sound of my own voice. The roaring of the darkness around us was unbearable. No light remained in this world. But I saw that Domino had created a portal of darkness again…but on the inside, I could barely see light. _Another world_? I lost consciousness.

**.**

**So, how did you like this chapter? It seems like Domino always exploded with anger once Kane is getting hurt. SO, let's see. Enix is dead. Asher and Ibiki left the scene thinking that everyone below was going to die. Yen Sid and Maleficent are each heading for different worlds, while Domino, Kane, and Kale headed for the same world. What adventures await? Stay tuned!**


	9. Calling to the Night (I)

**Kingdom Hearts does not belong to me, though that should be obvious.**

**.**

**Calling to the Night (I)**

When I opened my eyes, I found myself lying comfortably on a bed consisting of a cloud-like mattress and thick bed sheets and blankets. The pillow beneath my head felt so comfortable that I almost drifted back to sleep. Well, until I heard snoring. Darting my eyes to the right, I saw a bunk bed. That snoring was so familiar…_obnoxiously familiar_.

Sleeping soundly on the top bunk was Domino, his fedora set to the side of him. Below him was Kale, sleeping soundly and as adorable as any seven year old could be. Domino snored again. Normally I would lash out and start yelling at Domino to quiet it down, but I nearly chuckled. When was the last time I had heard that snoring of his?

I darted my eyes around the room. The floor, walls, and ceiling were white. The door at the edge of the room opened, and stepping into the room was a girl who looked to be around my age. Her black hair fell over her shoulders and nearly sparkled in the light of the shining sun that released its rays through the curtains of the window. Her large, emerald eyes looked so innocent. I could tell that she was a good person? Was it because I could sense her light? Did Domino's abilities rubbed off on me? I shrugged away the thought.

"Ah, you're awake," the girl said in a hushed tone. "We found you three out in the courtyard." She approached my bedside, staring into my eyes. Sitting down on the bed beside me, she suddenly took my hand in hers. "You're warm… good. You three were nearly as frozen as ice back there."

"Where are we?" I decided to ask.

"Daybreak Town," the girl replied quickly, as if expecting me to ask that question. "My name…is Rika Khiohé. I begged Father to take you in. You're in an orphanage right now. The other four are downstairs."

"Rika," I said, raising my voice a little bit. My throat felt a little better, but I tried not to overdo it when I spoke. "Thanks."

Rika smiled, sitting up and walking towards the window where she pulled open the curtains, releasing a shower of light into the room. Domino instantly grabbed his fedora and put it over his eyes, shielding himself from the immense light. Kale sat up in his bed and yawned, scratching the back of his bedhead.

"Rise and shine," Rika said, bouncing off and out of the room.

"Where are we, Kane?" Kale asked, yawning again, forcing myself to yawn as well. I told him the name of the town we were in, and both me and Kale jumped out of bed. I was surprised to notice that we were in new pairs of clothing. Someone had put pajamas on us while we were out. I had noticed a stack of clothes by the closet to the left of the room, the same ones that Domino, Kale and I had been wearing since the start of our journey.

"Domino, get up!" Kale yelled, climbing the ladder to the top bunk and jumping onto Domino's chest. Domino removed the fedora from his face and slowly opened one eye. "Get up, sleepy head! We're somewhere!"

"Where?" Domino said while yawning, slowly slipping out of bed, falling to the ground with Kale on his back. "Ouch." Standing up, I realized that he was only in his boxers. Kale nearly fell to the ground in laughter. Domino noticed his attire himself. "Where are my clothes?" Laughing myself, I pointed to the closet where the stacks of clothes were.

Rushing to his stack, he slowly put on his shirt and shorts. Kale and I got dressed as well. The three of us headed out of the door, finding ourselves in a hallway. At the end of the hallway was a staircase, which Domino eagerly ran down.

This place reminded me so much of the Kamikaze Home. But nearly everyone who lived there had gone their separate ways: Ibiki was a part of some group that was desperately trying to _kill_ Domino and I; Ty was living in the care of someone else; Tara had passed away back in Salem; and here Kale and I were on some magical journey with Domino. Some life.

At the bottom of the stairwell, we now stood in a kitchen. Sitting at the table were five girls. Among them was Rika. The others each varied in looks. One had bright red hair and green eyes; one had aqua colored hair and purple eyes; one had blonde hair and crystal blue eyes; the last had brown hair and brown eyes.

"Hello, you three," Rika said with a smile. "I'd like you to meet the gang." She pointed to the redhead. "Kristi." She pointed to the one with the aqua hair. "Crystal." She looked at the blonde one. "Bela." And finally he looked to the brunette. "And Xena."

Never have I ever been surrounded by so many girls before. They all looked to be Rika's age. Xena reminded me so much of Tara; I almost questioned whether or not the two were related. The only difference was the eye color, and the hair. Instead of Tara's piercing blue, they were caramel colored. Her hair was worn long, going to just above her waist, as opposed to Tara's hair which was always in ponytails and worn high. But her face was almost the same, dark tan that he loved about Tara.

"I think she will notice your stare, Kane," Domino said in my ear, and I nearly jumped. How long was I staring at her? "It's alright; I guess she's kind of cute." The five girls started giggling, and I felt my cheeks redden from the intense embarrassment Domino was giving me. "So, ladies…this is…Daybreak Town?"

"Yes," Xena replied with a bright smile. "This place is by far one of the greater worlds out there. You can't find a better world out there for Keybearers…well, except for the world they've originated from." Domino nodded.

"So where is this Father of yours?" I asked, and all of the girls' eyes were on me. I felt my face reddened again.

As if on cue, the door on the other side of the kitchen opened, and stepping through a man wearing blue robes. He had a long black beard that was darker than Rika's hair. On his head was a point blue hat. He wore spherical glasses over his small black eyes. "Oh, so our guests are finally awake? That's good."

"Father Merlin!" Kristi and Crystal cried out in happiness.

Rika stood up from her chair and walked over to the man, towering a foot above him. Kane noticed his short height. "Kane, Kale, Domino—" Kane decided not to ask about how she knew their names. "—this is Merlin, the person who found us when we were lost and brought us here. He's like a father to us, you know. The things this man does to keep Daybreak safe."

It was slight, but I saw Domino's nose twitch. "Your scent…it screams _magic_! You're a wizard? I wasn't aware that they had wizards still alive." I raised an eyebrow in surprise. How could Domino's sense of smell be _that_ strong!? Just because of the darkness he possesses?

"The last wizard, actually," Merlin said, scratching his nose. "Well, the last known one, anyway. So…two Utopians, I see."

"Two?" Domino asked. "Uh…you're forgetting one?"

"You should know that you're not a _true_ Utopian, Domino," Merlin replied, and Domino nodded like he suddenly understood. "You come from the world that gave birth to the Keyblades, where the Master Enix, all Keybearers, and all Wizards once lived. Kane Carter and Kale Kamikaze were truly born in Utopia."

"Quit worrying about where they came from, Father," Rika said, putting a hand on the short man's shoulder. Taking her hand off of his shoulder, she said aloud, "Does any one of you three want to go check out the town?"

"I do!" Domino said in his eccentric voice. It was hard to believe that just a little while ago he was a rampaging killing machine. Rika smiled, leading Domino to the doorway. The two walked out. Rika looked to me, expecting me to tag along, but my eye contact told Rika to go with Domino alone.

Kale pouted, wanting to go as well. I smirked at his pouting face, until he broke out in a smile and yelled, "Will someone play with me!?"

Kristi, Crystal, and Bela all squealed with high pitched voices, "ADORABLE!" and each grabbed onto a separate limb of Kale's, lifting the boy into the air by his arms and legs. Kale laughed, making me smile at how happy he could be away from home. The three carried the boy upstairs.

"Well, looks like the little tyke is having a lot of fun over here," Merlin said. "I must go check on the town, make sure nobody's causing trouble. He snapped his fingers, and then frowned. "You'd think after three years, my magic wouldn't be as rusty as it was before. Oh well." He hobbled out of the house, shutting the door behind him.

"So, you wanna go check out the sights?" Xena asked, placing a hand on my shoulder. I jumped higher than I should have. I caused the girl to laugh. I pouted at her. "Come on, I know you're dying to see what this world looks like. Plus, we can't leave Rika and Domino alone together. You know how many boyfriends she's had in the past month? I think I've lost count. She has bad taste in men. Now, if only she picked someone like you, then her taste wouldn't be that bad…"

I jumped at that comment. "Did you just—?"

"No, no I didn't," she quickly replied. "So, let's leave!" I led her to the door, opening it for her and allowing her to step through first. I walked out after her, closing the door behind me. The streets glittered in the light of the bright sun. Shiny buildings towered all around us, the sky was a brilliant blue, and the sun was bright…but not too bright. This was the first time I was able to look directly at the sun without my eyes being irritated.

She grabbed my hand—her hand was warm and soft—and she pulled me along, the two of us running down the streets. It was then I noticed…not only were there people on the ground, walking normally, but there were also people in the sky. Each one of them was piloting something that looked like a…Keyblade Glider! There really were more Keybearers! The sky was filled with them. At least thirty I've seen in the past minute or so.

"Surprised?" Xena asked as we gradually slowed down our run. "Domino's not the _only_ Keyblade wielder here, you know. I'm sorry; I had forgotten that Utopia was closed off." When she said that, memories flashed through my mind. A black strike of lightning slamming into me. Ibiki and Ty, flying towards the water of the Lake of Destiny. Domino murdering his parents. Mr. Brunner going on a dark rampage. All remaining Keybearers breaking the barrier and releasing us to the outside world. I let go of her hand. "What's wrong?"

"N-nothing, sorry," I said quickly, and Xena slipped her hand into mine once again. She was getting close to me, very quickly. Not even Tara showed me this much affection. We continued to walk until we saw Domino and Rika only a few feet ahead. "Hey, Domino!"

Domino turned towards me. "Kane! Is this place great or what!?" I had noticed that Rika was clutching Domino's hand, just as Xena was doing with mine. Rika saw me looking at her and Domino's hands, and she quickly let go. "So many Keybearers! With this many, we could have opened up the barrier of Utopia without the major sacrifice!"

"Sacrifice?" Rika asked instantly. _Domino, you idiot!_

"I, uh…" Domino said, for once unsure of what to say.

"You had to sacrifice people to get passed the barrier?" Rika asked worriedly. Domino then did something unexpected. Taking both of Rika's hands in his, he leaned forward and locked lips with her. Xena and I both gasped as our jaws dropped. Domino released himself from the sudden kiss. "Domino? I…didn't know that you felt that way…"

"Geez, you've only known each other for a short time!" I yelled out, being the only _logical_ person here. Two people do not fall in love after barely over an hour of knowing one another. The concept of love at first sight bothered me. But then there was also Xena, who was beautiful in every way. But was I truly _in love_ with her? Xena didn't seem to shy…she was very open and still remained holding my hand.

Domino let go of Rika's hands. "Uh, yeah, sorry, about that." He looked to me with pleading eyes as if asking for help. I silently chuckled. Xena, Rika, Domino, and I continued walking until we found ourselves in a circular courtyard with a fountain in the middle, spraying crystal blue water that created a rainbow above it.

"This place is beautiful," Domino said, looking from me to Rika several times. A calming wind swept past my hair. "I am so glad we've escaped Utopia, Kane." He walked away from Rika and approached me. I wasn't sure what he was doing at first, but it became clearer when he wrapped his arms around me. He nearly choked the air out of my lungs. I heard Xena and Rika laughing. Domino released me. He nearly had tears coming from his eyes. "Kane…I'm so glad."

"Same here," I said rather awkwardly. Immediately, a puff of blue smoke appeared in between Domino and I, and when the smoke cleared, Merlin stood there stroking his beard. "Merlin?"

"My magic isn't as rusty _now_, is it?" Merlin said in a '_Ha, I told you so!'_ tone of voice. "I realize that the two of you, Kane and Domino, must be very confused as to what that boy, Phoenix Asher, said to you back in Enix's realm." _How did he know about that_? "This book explains the Prophecy of Destiny." From his robes he took out a book bound in dark red leather. He handed it to me, obviously knowing how fast I could read. "We wizards have a knack for knowing such things, such as this book. Give it a gander, if you'd like."

I opened the front cover. The page behind it was a white, silky cover page, with golden letters etched into the silk. They seemed to be a jumble of letters that would have confused most people. I darted my eyes around the page, staring at each individual out of place letter. And in my mind, I rearranged the letters to make up a few sentences.

"What does it say?" Domino asked. "I can't decipher it."

**_"_****_Key-shaped weapons shall be created, bringing upon the worlds destruction and ruin, tearing apart everything in its wake. A storm of utter darkness shall ravage the worlds while a flood of light shall flow to counteract that darkness, causing a collision so powerful that it shall bring about the ending of the existence of any and all worlds. The Protector of Light who holds no Key shall face against the Dark Lord in a battle of Light versus Darkness during the End of Worlds."_**

As I read it, I slowly became more and more confused. "By the feel of this book, it's several decades old, older than any Keyblade and even Enix himself," I said, holding the book above my head. "It is as Asher said…a prophecy that states that the worlds will be destroyed in a conflict between the Light and Dark. It says two people will fight _during_ the End…a Protector of Light who holds _no_ Key, and a Dark Lord. When will this come to pass? The Keyblade's been around for three years now."

"Sounds a bit frightening, if you think about it," Xena mumbled. "The world ending… and as it is ending two people are fighting? Who would fight during an _apocalypse?_ Why not work together to stop it?"

"Who knows why anyone does anything anymore," Merlin said, crossing his arms. "Kane, you may keep that book. It is of no further use to me. I must take my leave again." Snapping his fingers, nothing happened. "Darn it." He snapped them again, but blue smoke only puffed out from below his hat, making the man cough. "Blast it all!" He stomped his foot, and he vanished into blue smoke.

Rika laughed at the man who had just left. She looked to Domino and said, "Hey, do you maybe wanna go eat somewhere?"

"How about you go get food and bring it back here," Domino said, his nose twitching as he looked to the fountain. "I must stay here to rest a bit. And to admire this fountain."

"With pleasure," Rika bounded off merrily, until she was out of sight beyond the courtyard.

I looked to Xena and said, "I'll catch up with you at Merlin's place. You should really get home. I have to stay here for bit, to talk to Domino." Xena nodded with understanding and walked back the way we had come. Once she was out of earshot, I said, "Domino, what do you sense?"

"How do you know—"

"Your nose twitched," I told him. I was now able to sense if something was happening just by looking at Domino's nose. That seemed a lot easier than commanding some darkness to heighten my senses. "Is there something happening? What's wrong?"

"Night's coming," Domino muttered. _Night_? It was barely past lunch time! Domino caught my confused stare and said, "A storm…in a few hours. It'll make the day look like night. But was it my darkness that brought it forth, or—?" Before he could say more, a person dropped from the sky in between Domino and I.

And it was none other than Dante Netherwood. His clothing didn't look as wet as he was before, when I had thrown him into that lake with my Thunder. Dante chuckled. "What influence are you having on this town, Domino?" I arched an eyebrow, confused as to what the man had meant. "This world is filled with light, yes. But behind all this light is the tiniest percentage of darkness lingering…it can't possibly all belong to you."

"Kane, let the two of us talk," Domino said. As soon as I attempted to protest, he said, "I'll be alright, darling Kane. Dante and I need to discuss matters."

I groaned and began to walk away, not bothering to argue with him. Before Dante had tried to kill Domino, but now the two wanted to talk? As I walked away, I stayed just within earshot, lingering so I could hear their conversation. My sense of hearing seemed to be extremely strong for some reason.

"As I landed on this world, some of my darkness was released," Domino said. "It found its way to a few Keybearers, and they've made it their own darkness. I do believe that the darkness is stronger…more superior to that _light_, but we mustn't let it overpower their judgment, as it did with Elijah."

"Some people would disagree with your motives," Dante said in a quieted voice. "Some would think that the light is superior, and would do whatever it took to purge the darkness. Whereas some would think that darkness should only remain, taking a role similar to that of Elijah Brunner and killing to fill his dark needs. Then there are those who choose a _neutral _side, and want the Keyblade to vanish forever. The more people here we get informed about the darkness, the better. The light is corrupting the minds of each and every society within the universe. We cannot allow the light to corrupt the next generations."

"That's why I sent Kale, Kane, and I here before we could perish in Enix's realm," Domino said. "This world contains citizens that could be persuaded by anything, really. And here we could get a perfect dark following. The darkness, supposedly _nonexistent _or_extinct_…is the supreme power and behind-the-scenes driving force of each world. It has more persuasion and power than the light. Spread the word to the Keybearers here. Have them all meet in this courtyard during the storm. We'll discuss things then."

What _was_ this? The way Domino spoke, it almost seemed like he _wanted_ the Light to perish. But if Light perished, the Dark would cease to…no, actually, if there was no light, all that would remain was darkness. What were Domino and Dante's plans, exactly?

"But they might not follow us too easily," Dante said. "They may need a prize to be won, something to drive them towards fulfilling our goals."

"A prize," Domino pondered. "Have you ever heard of the legend of Kingdom Hearts?" Dante smirked and vanished in a flurry of darkness. I had never heard about this _Kingdom Hearts_. Was it another world? It must have been special if Domino was going to use that as a prize for the Keybearers here.

Not wanting to be noticed by Domino, I dashed back to Merlin's place, and once I was there, I was immediately greeted by Kale in the front doorway. "Hey, Kane!" the boy shouted at my arrival. This boy sure was tough…dealing with the death of Tara and the loss of his new friends, Yen Sid and Maleficent, as well as losing Ibiki as a father figure…it was all too much. But Kane never once, as far as he could remember, had seen the young boy ever shed a tear.

"Hey, Kale, where're the girls?" I asked, bending over so I can be face-to-face with the little boy.

"They left when Xena came back," Kale replied. "I think they went to a friend's house?"

Before the youngster could say another word, blue smoke filled the air, and Merlin's voice echoed throughout the room. "Hello you two! Little Kale, how would you like to come see the world from an aerial view?" Kale arched an eyebrow. "…a view from above the clouds!" Kale slowly nodded his head in confusion at the blue smoke. "Excellent! Kane, while everybody else is away, I trust this home of mine in the care of yourself and Xena. Thanks a bundle!"

The blue smoke circled around Kale until the boy and the smoke disappeared. I wonder if I would ever be able to be a wizard like Merlin. And such a powerful man was allowing me to watch over his house…well, with the help of Xena, who, speaking of which, walked down the stairs and greeted me with a smile.

"So I see Kale left to have his fun with Father Merlin," Xena said, looking into my eyes. "Rika and Domino really hit it off. And it seems Crystal, Kristi, and Bela are spending the night at one of their friend's houses. That leaves the two of us…here…alone." I felt myself blushing. Could Xena see my cheeks getting redder? God, I hoped not. "Come up to my room. We can talk there. My feet are killing me!"

And now a girl was letting me go to her room? Not wanting to argue, I followed her up the stairs and went into one of the rooms closest to the staircase. Xena closed the door behind us. The both of us sat down on her bed. "So, Kane, what did Domino mean by sacrifice?"

And so I explained it all to her. How they needed the twenty Keybearers…well, it was seventeen then…to break the barrier by creating a massive sacrifice that should have killed the entire world. I explained how we've been in contact with Ibiki, symbolizing that the Utopians were still very much alive.

"I see," Xena replied. "Not to ruin your relationship or anything, but it seems that Domino is entirely codependent on you. You said he killed hundreds just to have a perfect life with you. He's almost obsessed. Ever wonder why that is?"

"I never really gave it much thought," I replied truthfully. "He also always seemed to explode if I was ever hurt or injured…he killed lots because he was afraid to lose me. Is this typical behavior of a true friend?"

"Sometimes, yes," Xena said. "Friends feel like they owe their best friends their life, and will do everything to make sure that person is happy. That's probably all there is to Domino. Unless he has other feelings inside of him."

"What do you mean?"

"Never mind on that," Xena said, trying to change the subject. "I'm glad I was able to meet you, Kane Carter. It's not every day that you pick a guy off the side of the road and have him go to your house. Especially a guy like you." She slipped her hand into mine, but this time instead of blushing, I felt calm, relaxed, and otherwise at peace.

She laid her head upon her pillow to get comfortable, and she forced me to do the same. Our heads were touching as we lay down on the bed, still holding hands. Could this day get any more strange or better? After that moment I had lost track of time. I thought I could hear Xena snoring.

We were extremely close together. And…what was that? I heard my own voice snoring. Was I asleep…and _aware _that I was asleep? Visions flashed in my mind…Domino slaying his parents, the black strike of lightning, the barrier of Utopia shattering, the death of Tara, the reappearance of Ibiki and the rampage of Domino…and then I saw a scene that I did not recognize.

Domino stood in front of the fountain in the Daybreak Courtyard. The clouds above them grew darker, the wind slowly picking up speed. Rika sat on the rim of the fountain, dipping her toes in the water, not paying any attention to Domino. Domino's lips moved as if he said something, but no words came out. Rika appeared to hear him, as she stood up and began walking down the street.

When he was alone, a portal of darkness appeared behind Domino and from it came Dante Netherwood. "Preparations are complete," the man said in a bold, clear voice. "They should be arriving soon." A blast of thunder echoed off of the buildings around the courtyard. "The perfect dark following!" Stretching his arms out, Keyblade Gliders began soaring from over the horizon from all directions. As they neared Domino and Dante, each Glider dissipated into darkness and their respective riders fell to the ground, each landing on their feet.

"We are complete!" Domino yelled out, pumping his fist into the air. "The Seekers of Darkness are all here! Did you use that old legend to convince them?"

Silently, Dante said, "Yes, they will all join the fight against Light so they can obtain the power within this so-called _Kingdom Hearts_. And among these Seekers of Darkness are the other eleven _Dark Users_ from Utopia."

"Ah, so we truly are complete," Domino muttered. "Then I can assume that the others from Utopia didn't show up because they are _loyal_ to the Light. That is understandable…yet foolish." Clearing his throat, he yelled out, "Listen up!" Each of the Keybearers surrounding Domino and Dante looked straight at Domino. "Our plan will soon reach fruition! As soon as this meeting is adjourned, we are to head for the birthplace of all Keyblades…my home, _Sanctuary_. There, we will shut down all light. We will begin an era of darkness…we will fuel the worlds with power hardly anyone has ever seen!"

I slowly opened my eyes, the words Domino had said fresh in my mind. For some reason, I didn't focus too much on that vision. It could have just been a dream for all I knew. I felt a cold wind…the window was partially opened, and my shoulders were poking out from under the blanket, bare. _Bare_? I soon realized that I was sleeping in Xena's bed, _with_ Xena, nude. Xena's eyes slowly opened. "Afternoon, Sunshine."

"What happened?" I asked silently, trying to slowly back away from her, but if I went too far I would fall out of the bed.

"And they say true love can't happen in a day," Xena muttered, putting a hand on my head and stroking my hair. "I've never done anything like this with anyone…I've never had a boyfriend before. But you, there's something about you that I just can't stop loving. Your heart…I can feel it, all of the light it possesses. But you just woke me up…your heart, it was beating rapidly. Like a gun, firing one bullet after another, your heart was pounding from your chest, trying to break free."

I could barely process what she was saying. Although here, in my journal, I can remember our conversation…all I heard at that moment was one, we had _it_, and two, I had a nightmare…no, a vision…about Domino.

Almost immediately, the door slammed open and Rika rushed into the room. Wasn't the door locked? I quickly pulled the covers over my head, but it was too late. Rika shouted out, "Am I interrupting!?" I slowly lifted the covers off of my head in embarrassment. "Oh well. Listen…Domino's doing something! Something bad!" I looked at her in confusion. "He told me to go get us drinks…for the _third_ time…and when I returned he was surrounded by over half of the Daybreak Keybearer population! I didn't want to be seen, so I rushed over here as quickly as I could to get you two!"

"Rika, we'll be out in a minute," Xena said quickly. "Go wait in the kitchen. Once there, _don't move_." Rika left, slamming the door behind her in a rush.

Falling out of Xena's bed, I scrambled to my feet on the floor and found my clothing, quickly slipping into everything. Looking at the door, I waited for Xena to get dressed. Once she finished, the two of us rushed out of her room to find Rika, but she was gone. The front door was wide open. Rain was flying in the house, the floor in front of the door littered with wet leaves soaked in rain.

The minute my foot stepped out of the door, my mind went blank, and was soon replaced by a vision of Domino. He floated in midair in the center of all of the dark Keybearers. Stretching his arms out, he looked to the stormy sky and let the rain slap him in the face.

"I, Domino, call out to the night! The forces of Darkness, I command thee…we shall make sure that the Light be vanquished, and the true power of _Kingdom Hearts_ shall be ours!" He looked around at all of his dark followers. "Every single one of you, do as I've said moments ago! Give me the power of darkness!"

Each of the Keybearers pointed their blades at Domino, and darkness began swirling around the tip of each blade. Dante smiled evilly.

"Domino, stop!" yelled the voice of Rika. None of the darkness users seemed to notice her presence, except for Domino and Dante. Rika ran past the fountain, jumping front of Domino. "Stop this madness now! What are you doing using the darkness like it's some toy, Domino!?" And then as if on cue, beams of darkness shot from each and every Keyblade out of the hundreds surrounding Domino. And instead of fusing with Domino as he obviously intended, the darkness slammed against Rika from all directions.

_Rika!_ I tried to cry out, but I realized this was only a vision. She winced in pain. I could barely watch. Each Keyblade blasted darkness her way, swirling around her in a flurry of pure evil. "AHHHHH!" she screamed out, darkness blasting out of the palms of her hands. Domino looked genuinely stunned; as if caring for the girl would undo the decisions he's made. Dante's expression was hard to read. When each Keyblade lowered, the darkness surrounding Rika vanished. The girl clutched her fists, her lips twisting into a smile. "I feel…reborn."

My eyes snapped open…I was on the floor, being comforted by Xena. Quickly sitting up in the doorway, I yelled out, "Rika's in trouble!"

**.**

**Yes, I just left you with a massive cliffhanger! For those of you who have read Road to Xehanort, the story that comes after this one in continuity, then you already know as of this chapter what is to become of a certain character whom I am not going to name.**


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